About Twyla Tharp
“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home”
Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Twyla Tharp has become an undeniable force in the art world. She has used her extensive education, musical intelligence, and vast curiosity to expand the boundaries of ballet, modern dance, stage and screen. Marrying classical discipline and contemporary techniques, her work has become synonymous with edginess and originality. Tharp has choreographed over 160 works, 12 television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows and two figure skating routines, showcasing her ingenuity around the globe.
Accolades and achievements
In 1965, Tharp founded her dance company Twyla Tharp Dance, a troupe known for its creativity, sharp wit and technical precision juxtaposed by a streetwise nonchalance. Combining different genres of movement—such as jazz, ballet, boxing and inventions of her own making—Tharp effectively revolutionized the art form.
Throughout her lifetime, Tharp has received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President’s Award, the 1991 Olivier Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor, the 2016 Pix Benois de la Danse, and the Golden Lion at the 2025 Venice Biennnale Danza.
Tharp has also been awarded many grants, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Tharp onstage at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet before the Canadian premiere of The Princess and The Goblin. Photo from Royal Winnipeg Ballet Archives.
Tharp in 1943.
Tharp (second row, center) in her first grade class picture in 1947.
Tharp before a tap and baton recital in 1949.
Tharp and partner during sixth grade square dancing class.
Sara Rudner and Tharp rehearse in the Judson Memorial Church gymnasium in 1967. Photo by Robert Propper.
Tharp (front row, left) in a newspaper photo with choreographers Martha Graham, José Limon and, in the back row, Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Paul Taylor, Yvonne Rainer and Don Redlich. Photo by Jack Mitchell.
Tharp with early company dancers Graciela Figueroa, Sheila Raj, Theresa Dickinson and Margery Tupling at 104 Franklin Street in 1969. Photo by Robert Barry.
Rose Marie Wright (on floor) and Tharp rehearse in the studio on Great Jones Street in New York City. Photo by Robert Huot.
Tharp and company dancers in a promotional photo for Dancing In The Streets… on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Jack Mitchell.
Tharp with Panasonic video equipment in the New Berlin farmhouse attic in 1970. Photo by Robert Huot.
Tharp, Mary Curry, Rose Marie Wright, Isabel Garcia-Lorca, Naomi Cohn and Sara Rudner rehearse before the premiere of Eight Jelly Rolls. Photo by William Pierce.
Tharp and son during a rehearsal in the 104 Franklin Street studio in 1971. Photo by James Klosty.
Tharp and son with company dancers (from left): Mary Curry, Rose Marie Wright, Sara Rudner, Isabel Garcia-Lorca, Tharp with son, Naomi Cohn and Kenneth Rinker.
Passport photos for Tharp and son in 1971 (left) and 1973 (right).
Rose Marie Wright, Tharp, Shelley Washington and Jennifer Way in rehearsal in 1976. Photo by Gjan Mili.
Tharp watches a rehearsal of In The Beginnings at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis. Photo by Larry Schermer.
Tharp directs company rehearsal in New York City. Photo by Gjon Mili.
Tharp and Oscar de la Renta during rehearsal for the premiere of Brahms/Handel. Photo by Steven Caras.
Photo by Herbert Migdoll.
Tharp, Jennifer Tipton and Santo Loquasto during the taping of Sue’s Leg, Remembering the Thirties. Photo by Lynda Rodolitz.
Tharp watches a rehearsal during the company’s residency at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis in 1975. Photo from the Minnesota Daily News.
Tharp with company dancers in the studio at 104 Franklin Street.
Tharp observes company rehearsal for Simon Medley in New York City in 1977. Photo by Edie Baskin.
Tharp behind the camera during filming of Hair.
Tharp with company dancers during a residency at Boston University. Seated: Anthony Ferro, France Mayotte, Tom Rawe, Jennifer Way. Standing: John Caraffa, Richard Coton, Raymond Kurshals, Sara Rudner, Tharp, Shelley Washington, Christina Uchida, William Whitener and Rose Marie Wright.
Tharp directs Shelley Washington in a rehearsal at the 104 Franklin Street studio.
Tharp oversees a rehearsal during the company’s residency at Boston University.
Tharp practices yoga with Jonathan Watts. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp in a promotional photo for the company’s 1980 Winter Garden Season. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp, with son, warms up before a taping of The Dick Cavett Show.
Dick Cavett and Tharp on the set of The Dick Cavett Show.
Merrill Brockway (far left), Emile Ardolino, George Balanchine (facing upstage) and Tharp with a member of the Dance in America television crew. Photo by Costas.
Tharp with Richard Colton, Sara Rudner, John Carrafa, Jennifer Way, Tom Rawe and France Mayotte in a promotional photo. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
A contact sheet showing promotional photos of Tharp by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp in the South of France while on tour in 1979.
Director Milos Forman and Tharp in Central Park during the filming of Hair. Photo by Michael Weller.
Paul Simon and Tharp rehearse before the premiere of Simon Medley.
Photo by Bill King.
Paul Taylor, Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov at a benefit in New York.
Tharp and David Byrne in a promotional photo for The Catherine Wheel. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov in a publicity photo for Push Comes To Shove. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov in a publicity photo for Push Comes To Shove. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp and her son with Paul Simon (far left), Richard Avedon and Mikhail Baryshnikov at a benifit for the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation at the Rainbow Room in New York City.
Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov rehearse Sinatra Suite in the American Ballet Theatre studios. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Gregory Hines and Tharp rehearse while filming White Nights in Portugal. Photo by Anthony Crickmay/Columbia Pictures Industries.
Tharp rehearses in Portugal while filming White Nights. Photo by Anthony Crickmay/Columbia Pictures Industries.
Tharp, with New York City Mayor Ed Koch (left), Jerome Robbins (right) and Bess Meyerson (far right), receives the Mayor’s Award of Honor for Arts and Culture
Tharp and Isabella Rosellini in a Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation fundraiser collage by Richard Avedon. Photos by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp in a company t-shirt designed by Norma Kamali in 1982. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp in the gym with trainer Sean Kelleher. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Jerome Robbins, Tharp and Robert Redford (background) attend a benefit for the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation. Photo by Star Black.
Tharp carried by Jamie Bishton in New York City in 1988. Photo by Annie Liebovitz.
Photo by Annie Liebovitz.
Photo by Greg Gorman.
Photo by Greg Gorman.
David Gomez of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Tharp rehearse I Remember Clifford. Photo by Reudi Hoffman.
Tharp rehearses with Jennifer Howard and Tharp! company members. Photo by Jesse Huot.
Tharp with Stanford University students in The One Hundreds. Photo by Liz Mafalia.
Photo by Walter Whitman.
Photo by Walter Whitman.
Tharp conducts a Q&A following a Twyla Tharp Dance performance at the World Trade Center on September 8, 2001, the last show before 9/11.
Billy Joel and Tharp in a promotional photo for Movin’ Out. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Photographer Richard Avedon with Tharp. Photo by Richard Avedon, courtesy of the Richard Avedon Foundation.
Tharp with Nancy and Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1984.
Tharp, with President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, receives the National Medal of Arts. Photo by Susan Sterner.
Photo by Ruben Afanador.
Princeton University Honorary degree recipients pictured with President Shirley M. Tilghman (right) and University Orator Rajiv Vinnakota (third from right) were: (from left) Muhammad Ali, LaSalle Leffall Jr., Tharp, Robert Fagles, Norman Augustine, Elizabeth Blackburn and Fritz Stern. Photo by Denise Applewhite.
Tharp with fellow 2008 Kennedy Center Honorees Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Morgan Freeman, Barbara Streisand and George Jones. Photo by Ron Sachs.
Tharp with Elvis Costello at the premiere of Nightspot at Miami City Ballet.
Tharp gives notes during rehearsals of Come Fly Away at Hunter College. Photo by Jesse Huot.
Tharp leads an exercise during a lecture on The Creative Habit at Meredith College. Photo from the Archives of Meredith College.
Tharp rehearses The Princess and The Goblin with students of the Atlanta Ballet School. Photo by Charlie McCullers.
Tharp rehearses The Princess and The Goblin with Atlanta Ballet student Stella McFall and dancer Tara Lee. Photo by Charlie McCullers.
Tharp rehearses The Princess and the Goblin with Atlanta Ballet dancers Christian Clark and Jesse Tyler. Photo by Charlie McCullers.
Photo by Greg Gorman.
Commissions
In addition to choreographing for her own company, Tharp has created dances for The Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Boston Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Martha Graham Dance Company, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Today, ballet and dance companies around the world continue to perform Tharp’s works.
Work in film and broadway
Reaching out to an audience beyond concert dance, Tharp’s work first appeared on Broadway in 1980 with When We Were Very Young, followed by her collaboration with musician David Byrne on The Catherine Wheel and later by Singin’ in the Rain. In 2002, her dance musical Movin’ Out, set to the music and lyrics of Billy Joel, won the Tony in Choreography. Tharp later worked with Bob Dylan’s music and lyrics in The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Frank Sinatra’s in Come Fly Away.
In film, Tharp has collaborated with several directors, including Miloš Forman on Hair, Ragtime and Amadeus, Taylor Hackford on White Nights and James Brooks on I’ll Do Anything.
Her television credits include choreographing Sue’s Leg for the inaugural episode of PBS’s Dance In America in 1976, co-producing and directing Making Television Dance, and directing The Catherine Wheel for BBC Television. Tharp also co-directed the television special Baryshnikov by Tharp, which won two Emmys.
Tharp published her autobiography Push Comes to Shove in 1992. She went on to write The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life, followed by The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together, and in 2019, her fourth book was published, Keep it Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life.
Today, Tharp continues to create and to lecture.
