Rather than a retrospective of her greatest work, the tour will include the world premieres of Preludes and Fugues, set to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and Yowzie, set to a compilation of American jazz arranged by Henry Butler and Steve Bernstein.
The five commissioners of the world premieres are The Joyce Theater (New York), (Washington), Auditorium Theatre & Ravinia Festival (Chicago), TITAS/AT&T Performing Arts Center (Dallas) and The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (Beverly Hills).
鈥淲e are honored to be a co-commissioner of two new Twyla Tharp works that she is creating for this momentous celebration of her art,鈥� said Patricia Wolff, interim artistic director at The Wallis. 鈥淎lthough we are only in our third season, we are finding ourselves a part of supporting important artists and projects to finding larger audiences."
Preludes and Fugues is set to excerpts from Bach鈥檚 鈥淭he Well-Tempered Clavier鈥� Volumes 1 & 2, and Yowzie to a selection of music from 鈥淰iper鈥檚 Drag,鈥� a compilation of jazz arranged by Butler and Bernstein. Each dance is introduced by a fanfare, both composed by John Zorn.
designed the costumes for all the dances, with lighting design by James Ingalls. In a program note describing the evening, Tony winner Tharp said, 鈥淪imply put, Preludes and Fugues is the world as it ought to be, Yowzie as it is. The 鈥楩anfares鈥� celebrate both.鈥�
The company comprises dancers who have long histories with Tharp, appearing in her Broadway shows, , The Times They Are A Changin' and , 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 , , Matthew Dibble and . Newer to Tharp are Daniel Baker, Amy Ruggiero, Ramona Kelley, Nicholas Coppula, Eva Trapp, Savannah Lowery, Reed Tankersley, Kaitlyn Gilliland and .
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