Tharp, Twyla (twī`lə), 1941–, American dancer and choreographer, b. Portland, Ind. An eclectic, innovative choreographer and dancer, she danced (1963–65) with Paul Taylor Taylor, Paul, 1930–, American modern dance choreographer, b. Pittsburgh. Taylor trained as an artist before he received scholarships to study dance. In 1953 he made his debut with the Merce Cunningham company and performed his first dance composition.
..... Click the link for more information. . For more than 20 years she had her own dance companies (1967–85, 1986–88), but in 1988 she joined the American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre, one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 under the direction of Lucia Chase and Rich Pleasant.
..... Click the link for more information. (ABT) as an artistic associate and until 1991 was one of the company's two resident choreographers. After leaving ABT she produced two pick-up troupes, including a 1992–93 tour starring herself and Mikhail Baryshnikov Baryshnikov, Mikhail (mĭ`khail bərĭ'shnĭkäv`), 1948–, Russian-American dancer and choreographer, b.
..... Click the link for more information. . She later established relationships with two regional troupes and rejoined (1995) ABT as a choreographer. In 2000 she again launched a company of her own, Twyla Tharp Dance.

Her impudent, loose-limbed, and immensely popular choreography, which combines elements from ballet, jazz, and modern dance, is characterized by high energy and meticulous discipline despite its pop-culture effects. Her works include Deuce Coupe (1973), Push Comes to Shove (1975), When We Were Very Young (1980), In the Upper Room (1986), Nine Sinatra Songs (1987), and The Beethoven Seventh (2000). Tharp also has choreographed for stage and film musicals, and conceived, directed, and choreographed the two-act Broadway ballet Movin' Out (2002), set to songs by Billy Joel. She also choreographed the much less successful The Times They Are a-Changin' (2006), based on Bob Dylan Dylan, Bob (dĭl`ən), 1941–, American singer and composer, b. Duluth, Minn., as Robert Zimmerman.
..... Click the link for more information. songs.

Bibliography

See her autobiography, Push Comes to Shove (1992); M. B. Siegel, Howling near Heaven: Twyla Therp and the Reinvention of Modern Dance (2006).

Tharp, Twyla

Twyla Tharp.

(born July 1, 1941, Portland, Ind., U.S.) U.S. dancer, director, and choreographer. She danced with Paul Taylor's company from 1963 to 1965, when she formed her own troupe and began to choreograph works such as Deuce Coupe (1973), Push Comes to Shove (1976), Baker's Dozen (1979), Nine Sinatra Songs (1982), and Fait Accompli (1984). In 1988 she disbanded her company and was resident choreographer with the American Ballet Theatre (1988–91). She has also choreographed for the Broadway theatre (including The Catherine Wheel, 1981) and several films (including Hair, 1979, and Amadeus, 1984). Tharp is notable for her humour and particularly for having been one of the first American choreographers to use popular music.

Tharp, Twyla (1941– ) choreographer, modern dancer; born in Portland, Ind. Trained in ballet and modern dance, she performed with the Paul Taylor Dance Company (1963–65) before forming her own company. Her early abstract works such as Push Comes to Shove (1975), and dances for the movies Hair (1979) and White Knights (1985), have evolved into more popular works for ballet companies. After disbanding her company in 1987, she worked as artistic associate for the American Ballet Theatre for two years, subsequently choreographing pieces for other leading ballet companies. In 1992 she performed her pieces with a "pickup" troupe of outstanding dancers, assembled for a two-week engagement in New York City, and published her autobiography, Push Comes to Shove.