Tharp, Twyla

Twyla Tharp is American modern dancer and choreographer. She was born 1 July 1941 in Portland, Indiana and grew up in Rialto, California. She attended Pomona College and received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1963. As a child she studied ballet, tap, flamenco, baron twirling, acrobatics, and several musical instruments. While in California, she studied dance with Beatrice Collenette, Wilson Morelli, John Butler, Carmen de Lavallade, and at the Lester Horton studio. In New York, Tharp studied with Igor Schwezoff, Richard Thomas, Barbara Fallis, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Eugene Lewis (Luigi), Margaret Craske, Paul Taylor and others. Twyla Tharp began her professional career as a dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1963. In 1965 formed her own company, Twyla Tharp and Dancers (disbanded in 1988), and in 1972 founded Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation, a non-profit organization. From 1987 to 1989, Tharp served as Artistic Associate with Mikhail Baryshnikov at the American Ballet Theatre. In 1990 formed Tharp Productions and is currently at work on various projects.

She has choreographed over 100 ballets for stage, television, and motion pictures, among them: Tank Dive (1965); Re-moves (1966); After "Suite", Medley, and Dancing in the Streets of London and Paris, Continued in Stockholm and Sometimes Madrid (1969); The Fugue, and The One Hundreds (1970); Eight Jelly Rolls, and The Bix Pieces (1971); Sue's Leg (1975); Sand After All (1976); Making Television Dance (a television production by Twyla Tharp, 1977); Baker's Dozen (1979); When We Were Very Young (1980); The Catherine Wheel (1981); Nine Sinatra Songs (1982); Scrapbook Tape (1982); In the Upper Room (1986); Rules of the Game (1989); Brief Fling (1990); Sextet (1992); Demeter and Persephone (1993); How Near Heaven (1995); Movin' Out (2003, a Broadway musical based on the music of singer-songwriter Billy Joel).

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