The curiously titled "3 Epitaphs," one of the dances on this season's University of Hawai'i spring concert, is a short work by Paul Taylor, set to the music of early New Orleans jazz. Thanks to the costumes (originally designed by Robert Rauschenberg) and the eccentricity and simplicity of the movement, one critic called it a "simian ballet." Premiered in New York in 1956 by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, it is Taylor's oldest surviving work.

Assigned by Taylor himself, Rachel Berman, a former Taylor dancer, returned to Hawai'i to restage the work. A petite woman with seemingly unlimited amounts of energy, she is no stranger to our state, having spent her childhood in Kailua. She attended Maunawili Elementary and Kamehameha Schools and began her dance training in ballet classes during summer sessions at Punahou.

In her teens, Berman moved to California to attend high school and pursue her dance studies at the San Francisco Ballet School. Although she loved ballet, Berman realized she wasn't the right material for San Francisco Ballet and decided to go to college, choosing the State University of New York at Purchase, known for its strong dance department.

"I had never studied modern dance before," Berman said in an interview after a rehearsal at UH. "In my sophomore year, someone came to set a piece of Paul Taylor on us. It was my first experience with Paul's work, and I loved it. Ironically, two years ago I returned to Purchase and re-staged the same dance on the current students."

It took several years before her dream of joining Taylor's company came true. In the meantime, immediately after graduating from college, Berman danced with several modern-dance companies in New York. Finally in 1989 she was invited to join Taylor and remained there for 10 years.

Asked why she left, she replied, "I felt it was time. Ten years is a good long run. I had the opportunity to dance some fabulous roles and see the world."

In 2000 her desire to freelance and experience other dance possibilities led her back to Hawai'i, where she taught at Mid-Pacific Institute and worked with Tau Dance Theater. Two years later she returned to New York to teach and become associate producer of the support group Dancers Responding to AIDS — "I curated and produced several fundraising programs and coordinated volunteers to do post-show collections."

During those years she continued to re-stage Taylor works at various companies and universities.

Through a special graduate program for professional dancers, Berman returned to school in 2006 to get her MFA.

Berman is now on the dance faculty at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., but her Hawaiian connection is still strong. She continues studying hula (with Patrick Makuakane in San Francisco) and will return to Hawai'i next as a dancer with Makuakane's halau, which performs at Hawai'i Theatre March 7-8.

Asked how she liked working with the students at UH, Berman was enthusiastic: "It's been a pleasure and a really easy process. To be able to bring my love of both Taylor and Hawai'i together is a great opportunity."