Starting in 1960, Katz began collaborating with Paul Taylor on sets and costumes for his dance performances. In Invented Symbols, in which Katz describes the collaboration experience, states, “I had seen Paul dance for the first time shortly before we met with Edwin [Denby] and thought his choreography was one of the most surprising things I had seen as an artist. Paul’s dancing seemed to be a real break with that of the previous generation: no expression, no content, no form, as he said, and with great technique and intelligence.”
Meridian, 1960, music by Morton Feldman
Junction, 1961, music by Johann Sebastian Bach, lighting by William Ritman
Red Room, 1963, music by Gunther Schuller
Scuderama, 1963, music by Clarence Jackson, lighting by Thomas Skelton
Post Meridian, 1965, music by Evelyn Lohoeffer de Boeck, lighting by Thomas Skelton
Orbs, 196, music by Ludwig van Beethoven, lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Private Domain, 1969, music by Iannis Xenakis, lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Foreign Exchange, 1970, music by Morton Subotnick, lighting by Jennifer Tipton, costumes by Alec Sutherland
Polaris, 1976, music by Donald York, lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Diggity, 1978, music by Donald York, lighting by Mark Litvin
Lost, Found Lost, 1982, "Elevator" music arranged by Donald York, lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Sunset, 1983, music by Edward Elgar (and recorded loon calls), lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Last Look, 1985, music by Donald York, lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Ab Ovo Usque Ad Mala (From Soup to Nuts), 1986, music by P.D.Q. Bach (Peter Schickele), lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Katz summed up his experience with the following from Invented Symbols: “I learned a lot doing sets and costumes in terms of scale. I learned a lot from Paul in terms of gestures and relationships between people. I learned from Paul that all your pieces don’t have to be the same. I learned from Paul never to be complacent towards the public. I learned a lot from Paul in terms of styling ideas. I learned a lot from Paul that the one person you don’t want to bore is yourself.”