Paul Taylor, giant of modern dance, dead at 88

NEW YORK (AP) -- Paul Taylor, a giant of modern dance, has died at age 88. Spokeswoman Lisa Labrado tells The Associated Press that Taylor died Wednesday at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.

The cause of death was not immediately available, but Labrado says Taylor was in hospice care.

Taylor created a vast repertory of works spanning more than six decades.

His creations could be light and joyful, as in the 1975 "Esplanade," his most beloved dance. But he could also reflect on the depths of the human condition, such as "Big Bertha," in which a wholesome family's outing to an amusement park ends in incest, rape and death.