Book Twyla Tharp

Choreographer, dancer and author Twyla Tharp has reshaped American dance by fusing ballet, modern movement and popular music. She made her first piece, Tank Dive, in 1965 and founded her company Twyla Tharp Dance that same year, touring the world with original work from 1971 to 1988. In 1973 she created Deuce Coupe for the Joffrey Ballet, set to the music of The Beach Boys and hailed as the first crossover ballet, and in 1976 she made Push Comes to Shove for American Ballet Theatre and Mikhail Baryshnikov, a landmark blend of classical and modern styles. Her company merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988, which has since premiered 16 of her works, and she regrouped her own troupe in 1991. She has also choreographed for Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet and New York City Ballet. Tharp's honors include the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography, a Drama League Award, the 2013 Capezio Dance Award, a 2003 Tony nomination for directing a musical and a honorary doctorate from Harvard in 2018. She speaks on creativity and discipline.