''Deuce Coupe'' is a ballet by choreographer

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...

, set to music by

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, for the

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual ...

. The ballet has been in their repertory in several redactions since the 1970s, and is still being performed. ''Deuce Coupe'' is often referred to as the first cross-over ballet, combining

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

vocabulary with pedestrian actions,

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

, jazz and a variety of movements of Tharp's own invention. The title refers to a 1932 Ford Model 18 coupe with a flathead V8 enjoyed by hotrodders/drag racers mainly in the 1960s. Music by The Beach Boys included "Little Deuce Coupe”, “Alley Oop", “Catch A Wave”, and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” The ballet's World Premiere was February 8, 1973 by Joffrey Ballet in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

References

Ballets by Twyla Tharp 1973 ballets {{Ballet-stub