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 American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

in 1988. She regrouped the company in 1991. Her work often uses classical, jazz, and contemporary pop music. From 1971 to 1988, Twyla Tharp Dance toured extensively around the world, performing original works. In 1973 Tharp choreographed '' Deuce Coupe'' to the music of

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. ''Deuce Coupe'' is considered the first "crossover ballet", a mix of ballet and modern dance. Later she choreographed ''Push Comes to Shove'' (1976), which featured Mikhail Baryshnikov and is now thought to be the best example of crossover ballet. On May 24, 2018, Tharp was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Early life and education

Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in

Portland, Indiana Portland is a city in and the county seat of Jay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 6,320 at the 2020 census, History Portland was platted in 1837. It was named after Portland, Maine. The Jay County Courthouse, Portland Com ...

, the daughter of William Tharp and Lecile (Confer) Tharp. She was named for Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair. As a child, Tharp spent a few months each year living with her

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

grandparents on their farm in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. She would attend Quaker services three times a week. Tharp's mother insisted she take lessons in dance, various musical instruments, shorthand, German and French. In 1950, Tharp's family—younger sister Twanette, twin brothers Stanley and Stanford, and her parents—moved to Rialto, California. William and Lecile operated Tharp Motors and Tharp Autos in Rialto. They opened a

drive-in theater A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, c ...

, where Tharp worked. The drive-in was on the corner of Acacia and Foothill, Rialto's major east–west artery and the path of Route 66. She attended Pacific High School in San Bernardino, studied at the Vera Lynn School of Dance, and studied ballet with Beatrice Collenette. A "devoted bookworm","Tharp Is Back Where the Air Is Rarefied"
by Gia Kourlas, ''The New York Times'', March 5, 2010 (March 7, 2010, p. AR1 NY ed.). Retrieved March 7, 2010. Tharp has said her schedule left little time for a social life. She attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

, but transferred to

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

after being caught making out with her boyfriend and threatened with expulsion. She graduated from Barnard with a degree in art history in 1963. In

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, she studied with Richard Thomas, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. In 1963, Tharp joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

Career

Dances and ballets

In 1965, Tharp choreographed her first dance, ''Tank Dive'', and formed her own company, Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often utilizes classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. From 1971 to 1988, Twyla Tharp Dance toured extensively around the world, performing original works. In 1973, Tharp choreographed '' Deuce Coupe'' to the music of

for the Joffrey Ballet. ''Deuce Coupe'' is considered the first crossover ballet. Later she choreographed ''Push Comes to Shove'' (1976), which featured Mikhail Baryshnikov and is now thought to be the best example of crossover ballet. In 1988, Twyla Tharp Dance merged with

, since which time ABT has premiered 16 of Tharp's works. In 2010 it had 20 of her works in its repertory. Tharp has since choreographed dances for

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Miami City Ballet,

, Hubbard Street Dance and Martha Graham Dance Company. She also created the dance roadshow ''Cutting Up'' (1992) with Baryshnikov, which went on to tour and appeared in 28 cities over two months. In 1995, Twyla Tharp held auditions globally to find new talent, forming what would become the three-year touring project ''Tharp!'' During this time, she set over six new works on the troupe, including ''Heroes'' featuring music by Philip Glass, ''Diabelli'' to the music of Ludwig von Beethoven, ''Roy’s Joys'' set to the music of Roy Eldridge, and ''Sweet Fields'', set to 19th century Shaker hymns. In 1998, her piece ''Yamayá'', infused with the sounds of the Buena Vista Social Club, premiered at Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University. After completing its third year of touring internationally, ''Tharp!'' was discontinued at the end of 1998. Several of its members went on to prominence in the dance world, including principals at the Royal Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera, as well as launching the career of notable choreographer Jessica Lang, who made her professional debut in ''Tharp!'' after being recruited directly out of the Juilliard School. In 2000, Twyla Tharp Dance regrouped with entirely new dancers. This company also performed around the world, and with it Tharp developed the material that became '' Movin' Out,'' an award-winning Broadway musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel and starring many of the dancers in the company. In 2012, Tharp created the full-length ballet ''The Princess and the Goblin'', based on George MacDonald's story '' The Princess and the Goblin''. It is her first ballet to include children, and was co-commissioned by Atlanta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet and performed by both companies. Tharp was the first Artist in Residency (A.I.R.) at Pacific Northwest Ballet in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. During this time she created and premiered ''Waiting At The Station'', a work with music by R&B artist Allen Toussaint and sets and costumes by longtime collaborator Santo Loquasto. A number of prominent fashion designers have designed costumes for Tharp, including Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, and Norma Kamali.

Broadway

In 1980, Tharp's work first appeared on Broadway with Twyla Tharp Dance performing ''When We Were Very Young'', followed in 1981 by ''The Catherine Wheel'', her collaboration with

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

at the Winter Garden. ''Wheel'' was broadcast on PBS and its

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

released on LP. Her dance piece ''Fait Accompli'' was set to music by David Van Tieghem as released on the These Things Happen LP (1984). In 1985, her staging of '' Singin' in the Rain'' played at the Gershwin for 367 performances. Tharp premiered her dance musical '' Movin' Out'', set to the music and lyrics of

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

, in Chicago in 2001. The show opened on Broadway in 2002. ''Movin' Out'' ran for 1,331 performances on Broadway. A national tour opened in January 2004. It received 10 Tony nominations and Tharp won Best Choreographer. Tharp opened a new show, '' The Times They Are a-Changin''', to the music of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

in 2005 at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. ''The Times They are A-Changin set the records for the highest-grossing show and highest ticket sales as of the date of closing (March 2006). It was also the first show to receive a second extension before the first preview. After its run in California, the New York show ran for 35 previews and 28 performances. In 2009, Tharp worked with the songs of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

to mount ''Come Fly with Me'', which ran at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta and was the best-selling four-week run as of the date of closing in 2009. Renamed '' Come Fly Away'', the show opened on Broadway in 2010 at the Marquis Theatre and ran for 26 previews and 188 performances. ''Come Fly Away,'' was retooled and opened under the title ''Sinatra: Dance with Me'' at The Wynn Las Vegas in 2011. ''Come Fly Away'' National Tour opened in Atlanta in August 2011.

Film and television

Tharp collaborated with film directors Miloš Forman on ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' (1978), ''Ragtime'' (1980) and '' Amadeus'' (1983);

Taylor Hackford Taylor Edwin Hackford (born December 31, 1944) is an American film director and former president of the Directors Guild of America. He won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for '' Teenage Father'' (1979). Hackford went on to dire ...

on '' White Nights'' (1985); and James Brooks on '' I'll Do Anything'' (1994). Her television credits include choreographing ''Sue's Leg'' (1976) for the inaugural episode of the PBS program ''Dance in America''; co-producing and directing ''Making Television Dance'' (1977), which won the Chicago International Film Festival Award; and directing ''The Catherine Wheel'' (1983) for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

. Tharp co-directed the award-winning television special "Baryshnikov by Tharp" in 1984.

Author

Tharp has written four books: an early autobiography, ''Push Comes to Shove'' (1992; Bantam Books); '' The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life'' (2003, Simon & Schuster), translated into Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Thai and Japanese; ''The Collaborative Habit'' (2009, Simon & Schuster), translated into Thai, Chinese and Korean; and ''Keep It Moving'' (2019). She has said that ''The Creative Habit'' is about

cybernetics Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

, especially in the several Greek-themed creative exercises, such as the Coin Drop; the Coin Drop, as an exercise in extracting ordered meaning from chaos, is derived from the astrological

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Urania, in that random coins falling onto a flat surface can be used to develop pattern analysis skills. The astrological theme is an etymological underpinning of cybernetics' tradition of "guiding a boat" by sighting stellar references according to ancient Greek

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

Works chronology

Dances/ballets/theatre

*Tank Dive 4/29/65 *Stage Show 7/7/65 *Stride 8/9/65 *Cede Blue Lake 12/1/65 *Unprocessed 12/1/65 *Re-Moves 10/18/66 *Twelve Foot Change 10/18/66 *One, Two, Three 2/2/67 *Jam 2/4/67 *Disperse 4/27/67 *Yancey Dance 7/1/67 *Three Page Sonata 7/6/67 *Forevermore 2/9/68 *Generation 2/9/68 *One Way 2/9/68 *Excess, Idle, Surplus 4/25/68 *Group Activities 1/13/69 *After Suite 2/2/69 *Medley 7/19/69 *Dancing In The Streets 11/11/69 *Sowing Of Seeds 6/7/70 *The Willie Smith Series 7/10/70 *Rose's Cross Country 8/1/70 *Fugue, The 8/1/70 *The One Hundreds 8/1/70 *11-Minute Abstract, Repertory 1965-70 11/16/70 *The History of Up and Down, I and II 1/22/71 *Sunrise, Noon, Sundown 5/28/71 *Mozart Sonata K.545 8/1/71 *Eight Jelly Rolls 9/16/71 *Torelli 11/2/71 *Piano Rolls 11/7/71 *The Bix Pieces 4/14/71 *The Raggedy Dances 10/26/72 *'' Deuce Coupe'' (ballet) 2/8/73 *As Time Goes By 10/10/73 *In the Beginnings 1/26/74 *All About Eggs 2/1/74 *The Fugue on London Weekend Television 4/22/74 *Twyla Tharp and Eight Jelly Rolls 5/12/74 *Bach Duet 9/5/74 *Deuce Coupe II 2/1/75 *Sue's Leg 2/21/75 *The Double Cross 2/21/75 *Ocean's Motion 6/22/75 *Rags Suite Duet 9/10/75 *Push Comes To Shove 1/9/76 *Sue's Leg, Remembering the Thirties 3/24/76 *Give and Take 3/25/76 *Once More Frank 7/12/76 *Country Dances 9/4/76 *Happily Ever After 11/3/76 *After All 11/15/76 *Cacklin' Hen 2/14/77 *Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover 5/12/77 *Mud 5/12/77 *Simon Medley 5/12/77 *The Hodge Podge 5/12/77 *1903 2/2/79 *Chapters and Verses 2/2/79 *Baker's Dozen 2/15/79 *Three Dances From The Film "Hair" 2/15/79 *Three Fanfares 3/14/79 *Brahms Paganini 2/8/80 *Deuce Coupe III 2/8/80 *Assorted Quartets 7/29/80 *Third Suite 8/26/80 *Short Stories 8/27/80 *Uncle Edgar Dyed His Hair Red 2/28/81 *'' The Catherine Wheel'' 9/22/81 (music by

) * Nine Sinatra Songs 10/15/82 *Bad Smells 10/15/82 *The Little Ballet 4/1/84 *Telemann 11/4/83 *Fait Accompli 11/8/83 (music by David Van Tieghem) *"The Golden Section" 11/8/83 (music by David Byrne) (also filmed for PBS) *Sinatra Suite 12/6/83 *Bach Partita 12/9/83 *'' Brahms/Handel'' (ballet), choreography by Tharp and

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

6/7/84 *Sorrow Floats 7/5/84 *Singin' in the Rain - Broadway 7/2/85 *''In The Upper Room'' 8/28/86 (music by

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

) *Ballare 8/30/86 *The Catherine Wheel III 2/2/87 *Quartet 2/4/89 *Bum's Rush 2/8/89 *Rules of the Game 2/17/89 *Everlast 2/21/89 *Brief Fling 2/28/90 *Grand Pas: Rhythm of the Saints 10/1/91 (music by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

) *Men's Piece 10/4/91 *Octet 10/4/91 *Sextet 1/30/92 *Cutting Up: A Dance Roadshow 11/27/93 *Bare Bones 11/27/93 *Pergolesi 6/4/93 *Demeter & Persephone 10/5/93 *Waterbaby Bagatelles 4/30/94 *"New Works" Twyla Tharp in Washington: Red, White & Blues" 9/13/94 *How Near Heaven 3/3/95 *Americans We 5/1/95 *Jump Start 5/1/95 *I Remember Clifford 8/9/95 *Mr. Worldly Wise 12/9/95 *The Elements 5/3/96 *Sweet Fields 9/20/96 *"66" 9/20/96 *Heroes 9/20/96 *Roy's Joys 8/18/97 *Story Teller, The 10/29/97 *Noir 1/30/98 *Yemaya 3/13/98 *Known By Heart Duet 8/6/98 *Diabelli 10/22/98 *Known By Heart 11/3/98 *The Junk Duet 11/3/98 *Grosse Sonate 7/1/98 *Beethoven Seventh 1/22/00 *The Brahms/Haydn Variations aka: Variations on a Theme by Haydn 3/21/00 *Mozart Clarinet Quintet K. 581 7/6/00 *Surfer At The River Styx 7/6/00 *Westerly Round 6/23/01 *'' Movin' Out'' - Chicago 6/25/02 *''Movin' Out'' - New York 10/24/02 *Even The King 1/11/03 *''Movin' Out'' - US Tour 1/27/04 *'' The Times They Are A-Changin''' - California 2/9/06 *Catherine Wheel Suite 5/11/06 *''The Times They Are A-Changin - New York 10/26/06 *NIGHTSPOT 3/28/08 *Rabbit and Rogue 6/3/08 (music by

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

) *Opus 111 9/25/08 *Afternoon Ball 9/25/08 *Come Fly With Me 9/23/09 *'' Come Fly Away'' 3/25/10 *Sinatra: Dance With Me - 12/11/10 *Armenia 4/23/11 *''Come Fly Away'' Tour 8/3/11 *Scarlatti 10/13/11 *The Princess and The Goblin - Atlanta 2/10/12 *The Princess and the Goblin - Winnipeg 10/17/12 *Treefrog in Stonehenge 07/26/13 *Waiting at the Station 09/27/13 *Come Fly Away (Ballet) 09/28/13 * Beethoven Opus 130 2016 * Brel 2/13/2024 * The Ballet Master 2/13/2024

Collaborative work

* '' Brahms/Handel'' with

6/7/84

Filmography

*''

'' 3/12/78 *''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

'' 1980 *'' Amadeus'' 9/19/84 *'' White Nights'' 12/6/85 *'' I'll Do Anything'' 1994

Video

*''Scrapbook Tape'' 10/25/82 *''The Catherine Wheel'' 3/1/83 *''Baryshnikov by Tharp / Push Comes to Shove'' 10/5/84 *''Twyla Tharp: Oppositions'' 4/24/96

Television

*The Bix Pieces (series of productions) 1973 *''Making Television Dance'' 10/4/77 *''Dance Is A Man's Sport Too'' 1980 *''Confessions of a Cornermaker'' 10/13/81 *''Catherine Wheel'', PBS 3/1/83 *"The Golden Section" from Dance in America: Miami City Ballet 10/28/11

Books

* Tharp, Twyla (December 1992), ''Push Comes to Shove'', Bantam Books, * Tharp, Twyla (September 29, 2003), ''The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life'', Simon & Schuster, * Tharp, Twyla (November 24, 2009), ''The Collaborative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life'', Simon & Schuster, * Tharp, Twyla (October 29, 2019), ''Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life'', Simon & Schuster,

Honors and awards

Tharp has received two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, and numerous grants, including a MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

, and an Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. At the 1982 Barnard College commencement ceremonies, Tharp's alma mater awarded her its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction. She received the Tony Award for Best Choreography and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for ''Movin' Out''. She received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Choreography for '' Singin' in the Rain''. Tharp was named a Kennedy Center Honoree for 2008. She was inducted into the Academy of Achievement in 1993. From 2013 to 2014, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery featured Tharp in the critically acclaimed "Dancing the Dream" exhibition as a pioneer of American

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 ...

. On May 24, 2018, she was awarded the Doctor of Arts degree by

Awards by year

1965 *Walter Gutman 1969 *George Irwin *The Lepercq Foundation 1970 *Foundation for the Contemporary Performing Arts, 1970 *Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation *The Emma A. Sheafer Trust, 1970–1981, 1985 1971 *John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, 1971, 1974 *National Endowment for the Arts Choreographers Fellowship, 1971, 1973 *New York State Council on the Arts Annual Support, 1971–1986 1972 *Brandeis University, Creative Arts Citation 1973 *National Endowment for the Arts Annual Support, 1973–1986 1974 *Creative Artists Public Service Program *Edward John Nobel Foundation *New York Public Library Dance Collection *The Place Trust, London *The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 1974–1978, 1982, 1983, 1986 1975 *Eight Jelly Rolls, 1st in Festival in Video and Modern Dance Video Certificate of Honor *Making Television Dance, Modern Dance Video Certificate of Merit 1976 *Mademoiselle Magazine, Mademoiselle Magazine Award *Exxon Corporation, 1976, 1980, 1982–1984, 1986 1977 *The Green Fund, 1977, 1980, 1981 *National Endowment for the Arts Challenge Grant, 1977, 1985 *The Shubert Foundation, 1977, 1978, 1980–1986 1978 *Dance Film Association, 7th Annual Dance Video and Film Festival *Honorary Degree, California Institute of the Arts *Silver Satellite Award for Making Television Dance, American Women in Radio & Television *The Ford Foundation, 1978, 1980 *The Ford Motor Company, 1978–1985 *The Surdna Foundation, 1978, 1980, 1985 1979 *Soho Arts Second Annual Awards, The SoHo Weekly News *Honorary Degree, Bucknell University *The Scherman Foundation, 1979, 1980, 1982–1985 *United Artists *The David Merrick Arts Foundation *Mobil Foundation, Inc., 1979, 1981–1986 1980 *Honorary Degree, Bates College * Dance Educators of America Award for Making Television Dance *Screening and Red Ribbon Award for Making Television Dance *The Booth Ferris Foundation *Chase Manhattan Bank, 1980–1982 *Con Ed, 1980–1985 *Morgan Guarantee Trust, 1980–1981, 1983–1984, 1986 *The Jerome Robbins Foundation, 1980, 1983 1981 *Film Library Association American Film Festival *Honorary Degree, Bard College *Honorary Degree, Brown University *Dance Magazine Award, Dance Magazine *Dance Film Award for Making Television Dance, Chicago International Film Festival *Indiana Arts Award, Indiana Arts Commission *Citibank, 1981–1986 *Doll Foundation, 1981–1986 *Weil Foundation *Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation *Rockefeller Foundation 1982 *Medal of Distinction, Barnard College *Chemical Bank, 1982–1986 *National Corporate Fund for Dance, 1982–1985 *Robert Sterling Clark Foundation *Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation, 1982, 1986 *New York Telephone, 1982–1985 1983 *Spirit of Achievement Award, Albert Einstein College of Medicine *Honorary Degree, Williams College *Indiana Arts Award, Indiana Arts Commission *The Thorne Foundation * Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, 1983–1984, 1986 *C.L. Glazer Trust *The Klingenstein Fund *Warner Communications 1984 *Mayor's Award of Honor for Arts and Culture, Edward I. Koch, New York City *Dance Masters of America 1984 Choreographer's Award *Arthur Andersen and Company, 1984–1986 *Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission *Booth Ferris Foundation *Brooklyn Union and Gas *Merrill Lynch, 1984, 1986 *New York Times Company Foundation, 1984–1986 1985 *Emmy Awards for Baryshnikov by Tharp choreography and co-direction, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences *Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for Baryshnikov by Tharp *Indiana Arts Award, Indiana Arts Commission *APA Trucking *The Charles Engelhard Foundation *Corporate Property Investors *Hausman Belding Foundation *Gerald D. Hines Interests *GFI/Knoll International *NBC, 1985–1986 *Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, 1985, 1986 *Zayre Corporation 1986 *University Medal of Excellence, Columbia University *Bankers Trust *Cadillac Fairview *MCA *Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company *Ridgewood Energy Corporation 1987 *Honorary Degree, Indiana University *Honorary Degree, Pomona College 1988 *Honorary Degree, Hamilton College *Honorary Degree, Skidmore College 1989 *Honorary Degree, Marymount Manhattan College *Lions of the Performing Arts Award, New York Public Library 1990 *Samuel M. Scripps Award, American Dance Festival 1991 *Laurence Olivier Award for In the Upper Room, Laurence Olivier Foundation *Wexner Foundation Award, The Ohio State University Wexner Center for the Arts 1992 *MacArthur Fellowship, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation *Ruth Page Visiting Arts, Harvard University, 1992–1993 1993 *Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement *Woman of Achievement, Barnard College *Inducted, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1996 *Arts Award, Dickinson College *Honorary Degree, Ball State University *Distinguished Artist Award, International Society For The Performing Arts 1997 *American Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters 1998 *Trust for Mutual Understanding 1999 *MOCA Award to Distinguished Women In The Arts, Museum Of Contemporary Art 2000 *The Doris Duke Awards for New Work 2001 *Women's Project & Productions Exceptional Achievement Award 2002 *New York Awards Lifetime Achievement 2003 *Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography: '' Movin' Out'' *Tony Award Best Choreography: ''Movin' Out'' *Drama League Outstanding Achievement Award for Musical Theatre *TDF/Astaire Award Best Choreographer: ''Movin' Out'' *Indiana Living Legend, Indiana Historical Society *Glamour Woman of the Year Award *Outstanding Contribution to the Arts Award North Carolina School of the Arts *Honorary Doctorate, North Carolina School of the Arts 2004 *National Medal of Arts *Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award for Excellence in the Arts *Independent Reviewers of New England Award Best Choreography: ''Movin' Out''. Broadway in Boston *Goddard Space Flight Center's Center Director's Colloquium Citation for Enlightening, Creative and Thought-Provoking Presentation 2005 *Best Choreography: ''Movin' Out''. Touring Broadway Awards *Jane Addams Medal for Distinguished Service presented by Rockford College 2006 * Princess Grace Award – Outstanding Artistry *Critics Circle Dance Award Outstanding Choreography: ''Movin' Out''. London 2007 *Honorary Degree, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina *Honorary Degree, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ *Touring Broadway Award: Best Choreography for a touring show for ''Movin' Out'' 2008 *The Jerome Robbins Prize *The Kennedy Center Honors *Woman of the Year Award, presented by Nevada State Ballet 2009 *''U.S. News & World Report'': listed on "America's Best Leaders" *Leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government 2010 *The IAL Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts, presented by Columbia University's The Varsity Show *The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreographer: ''Come Fly Away'' *Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences * Suzi Bass Award for Best Choreography: "Come Fly With Me" *Rolex Dance Award 2011 *The Vasterling Award, Presented by Nashville Ballet *Honorary Degree, The Juilliard School, New York, NY *TITAS Award for Contributions to the Arts *Woman of Achievement Award, Meredith College *Spotlight Award, Presented by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2013 *Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Tribeca Film Festival 2014 *62nd Capezio Dance Award *Honorary Degree, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Personal life

Until 1972 Tharp was married to painter Robert Huot, by whom she has a son, Jesse Huot, who acts as her business manager. She also has a grandson.

Citations

General and cited sources

* *

External links

* * *
Archival footage of Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs in 1993 at Jacob's Pillow

Twyla Tharp performing The One Hundreds in 2001 at Jacob's Pillow

Alvin Ailey performing a ballet by Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp Biography and Interview on American Academy of Achievement
* American Mastersbr>(S35 Ep3) Twyla Moves
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharp, Twyla 1941 births Living people American women choreographers American choreographers Barnard College alumni Drama Desk Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners Kennedy Center honorees MacArthur Fellows American modern dancers Musical theatre choreographers People from Portland, Indiana Tony Award winners United States National Medal of Arts recipients Choreographers of American Ballet Theatre People from Rialto, California 20th-century American women writers Pomona College alumni Dancers from Indiana Writers from Indiana 21st-century American women writers Prix Benois de la Danse winners Members of the American Philosophical Society