TWO WORLD PREMIERES, “PRELUDES AND FUGUES” AND “YOWZIE” CELEBRATE TWYLA THARP’S 50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR, OPENING SEPTEMBER 18-19 IN DALLAS, TX AND CLOSING NOVEMBER 17-22 AT LINCOLN CENTER’S DAVID H. KOCH THEATER IN NEW YORK.
Instead of creating the expected for her 50th Anniversary Tour – a retrospective of her greatest hits – Twyla Tharp’s restless spirit demanded she choreograph two brand new works for her troupe of 13 dancers. The ten-week cross-country celebration, which showcases the two new dances, “Preludes and Fugues” and “Yowzie”, opens at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, presented by TITAS, in Dallas on September 18-19 and concludes at Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater, November 17-22.
“Preludes and Fugues” is set to excerpts from Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” Volumes 1 & 2, and “Yowzie” to a selection of music from “Viper’s Drag,” a compilation of jazz arranged by Henry Butler and Steven Bernstein. Each dance is introduced by a fanfare, both composed by John Zorn. Santo Loquasto designed the costumes for all the dances, and James Ingalls, the lighting.
In a program note describing the evening, Tharp says: “Simply put, ‘Preludes and Fugues’ is the world as it ought to be, ‘Yowzie’ as it is. The ‘Fanfares’ celebrate both.”
The company is comprised of dancers who have long histories with Tharp, appearing in her Broadway shows, “Movin’ Out,” “The Times They Are A Changin’” and “Come Fly Away,” as well as in her various dance troupes and in the ballet and contemporary dance companies for whom she has created new works. They are John Selya, Rika Okamoto, Matthew Dibble, and Ron Todorowski. Newer to Tharp are Daniel Baker, Amy Ruggiero, Ramona Kelley, Nicholas Coppula, Eva Trapp, Savannah Lowery, Reed Tankersley, Kaitlyn Gilliland, and Eric Otto.
Please see attached schedule for exact tour dates and venues.
