New York Times: When Twyla Tharp Made Ballet Modern
"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery
New York Times: When Twyla Tharp Made Ballet Modern
By Gia Kourlas
22 May 2019
Twyla Tharp threw down a gauntlet in 1973: She mixed classical and modern dance to make the first crossover ballet, “Deuce Coupe.” It was a revolutionary work, and to pull it off she needed both the Joffrey Ballet and her own company. Its impact still reverberates through the dance world.
“‘Deuce Coupe’ said, O.K. look, we have modern dance over here and we have ballet over here and we have this big void in between,” Ms. Tharp said. “Why is there this gully in dance? I think everybody should be able to do everything.”
Set to songs by the Beach Boys — pairing pop music and ballet wasn’t the norm, either — “Deuce Coupe” was the introduction to a different world for Ms. Tharp too. Before its premiere, she said, she had never taken a bow. When she was handed a bouquet of flowers during the curtain call, she threw it back.
Read the full article in The New York Times.
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