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Americans We
Bach Partrita
Baker's Dozen
Brief Fling
Bum's Rush
The Elements
Everlast
The Fugue
How Near Heaven
In the Upper Room
Jump Start
The Little Ballet
Nine Sinatra Songs
Once More, Frank
Push Comes to Shove
Quartet
Rabbit and Rogue
Sinatra
Suite
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Since graduating from college in 1963, Twyla Tharp has choreographed
more than
one hundred thirty-five dances, five Hollywood movies, directed and
choreographed three Broadway shows, written two books and received one
Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, nineteen honorary doctorates, the Vietnam
Veterans of America President's Award, the 2004 National Medal of the
Arts and many grants including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Fellowship. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In 1965 Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. In addition
to choreographing for her own company, she has choreographed for many
other companies including: American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera
Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Boston Ballet, Hubbard
Street Dance and The Martha Graham Dance Company.
Tharp’s work first appeared on Broadway in 1980 with When
We Were Very Young, followed in 1981 by her collaboration with
David Byrne on The Catherine Wheel at the Winter Garden. Her
1985 production of Singin’ in the Rain played at the
Gershwin and was followed by an extensive national tour. In 2002, Tharp’s
award-winning dance musical Movin’ Out set to the music
and lyrics of Billy Joel premiered at the Richard Rodgers and ran for
three years. A national tour opened in 2004 and also ran for three years.
For Movin’ Out Tharp received the 2003 Tony Award, the
2003 Astaire Award, the Drama League Award for Sustained Achievement
in Musical Theater; and both the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics
Circle Award for Outstanding Choreography. For the London production
Tharp won Best Choreography (Musical Theatre) Award of the UK’s
Critics' Circle National Dance Awards 2006. In 2006 Tharp worked with
Bob Dylan’s music and lyrics to create The Times They Are
A-Changin’ which played at the Brooks Atkinson.
In film Tharp has collaborated with director Milos Forman on Hair
in 1978, Ragtime in 1980, and Amadeus in 1984, with
Taylor Hackford on White Nights in 1985 and with James Brooks
on I’ll Do Anything in 1994.
Her television credits include choreographing Sue’s Leg
for the inaugural episode of PBS’ Dance in America, co-producing
and directing Making Television Dance, which won the Chicago
International Film Festival Award; and directing The Catherine Wheel
for BBC Television. Tharp co-directed the television special Baryshnikov
By Tharp, which won two Emmy Awards as well as the Director's Guild
of America Award for Outstanding Director Achievement.
In 1992 Tharp wrote her autobiography Push Comes to Shove.
Her second book, The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life
was published in October 2003.
Today Tharp continues to create and to lecture around the world.
The following works by Twyla Tharp were given their World Premieres
by American Ballet Theatre: Americans We (1995), Bach Partita
(1983), The Brahms-Haydn Variations (under the title Variations
on a Theme by Haydn (2000), Brief Fling (1990), Bum’s
Rush (1989), The Elements (1996), Everlast (1989),
How Near Heaven (1995), Jump Start (1995), Known
by Heart (1998), The Little Ballet (under the title Once
Upon a Time (1983), Once More, Frank (Pas de Deux) (1976),
Push Comes to Shove (1976), Quartet (1989) and Sinatra
Suite (1983).
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