Sublime

Twyla Tharp is one of the most celebrated, inventive dance choreographers in modern times. Her body of work is made up of more than 160 pieces, including 129 dances, twelve television specials, six major Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows, and two figure-skating routines. Dance might seem like the creative medium that c

For the collaboration with Joel, Tharp had two goals: The first was to understand and master the role of narrative in dance, a long-standing creative challenge that had captured her curiosity. The second goal was much more practical, but no less motivating: to pay her dancers well. She said, “So I wrote my goals for the project, ‘tell a story’ and

The other half of the program, Tharp intentionally leaves a mystery until she arrives. She doesn’t plan what music she’ll be using or which dancers she’ll be working with. She won’t even think about the lighting or costumes until she arrives. The large white room will become her motivation to create something brand new.

Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003), 80.