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Events
Twyla@60 : A Tharp Celebration
October 15, 2025 at 7:30 pm
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
Twyla@60 : A Tharp Celebration
Sextet Company Premiere
Choreography by Twyla Tharp
Music by Colin Jacobsen ("Brooklesca”), Café Tacvba ("La Muerte Chiquita”), and Ljova ("Plume”)
Costumes by Santo Loquasto
Lighting by Brad Fields
Running Time: 22 minutes
Sextet is a virtuosic pure-dance work for three couples, marked by speed, precision, and striking physicality. The choreography is bold and exacting, demanding technical finesse and fearless execution. Each couple enters and exits in turn, navigating the intricate partnering and rapid sequences with the kind of freedom that only mastery allows. Moments of stillness and transition are brief but potent, offering a sharp contrast to the relentless drive of the movement.
Bach Partita
Choreography by Twyla Tharp
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Costumes by Santo Loquasto
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton
Tharp’s ambitious, non-narrative ballet Bach Partita remains striking in scale, featuring six Principal Dancers, fourteen Soloists, and sixteen corps ballerinas. Set to Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor—including the spiritually powerful Chaconne—the work challenges every performer, from principals to corps, with choreography that demands both technical precision and expressive depth.
Push Comes to Shove
Choreography by Twyla Tharp
Music by Joseph Lamb ("Bohemia Rag") and Franz Joseph Haydn (Symphony No. 82 in C, arrangement by David E. Bourne)
Original Costume Design by Santo Loquasto
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton
A milestone in 20th century ballet, Push Comes to Shove blends Tharp’s signature wit and offbeat theatricality with classical ballet vocabulary. Created in 1976 for the electrifying Mikhail Baryshnikov shortly after his arrival to the West, the work is both a loving homage to ballet tradition and a bold subversion of it. With its sly humor, unexpected transitions, and jazz-inflected movement, the ballet challenges conventions while celebrating dancer individuality. The result is a richly textured piece that remains one of Tharp’s most iconic and enduring contributions to the ballet repertoire.
Celebratory Toast
Opening Night of Twyla@60
Celebrate with us! On select evenings during our Fall 2025 season, ABT invites audiences to join special post-performance toasts in honor of landmark premieres and Company milestones. These celebratory gatherings take place on the Promenade at the David H. Koch Theater and are open to all ticket holders who purchase an additional toast ticket in advance.
After the 7:30 P.M. performance on October 15, raise a glass to the opening of Twyla@60: A Tharp Celebration following the evening’s performance of Sextet, Bach Partita, and Push Comes to Shove. Celebrate Tharp’s legendary contributions to ABT and American dance with a toast honoring her bold, genre-defying choreography.