Cutting Up

Music details
Audio sample

Adagio from 1st Movement of Sinfonia No. 5 in F minor
Composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, circa 1730

Cutting Up
World premiere date
Premiere location place
Columbus, OH
Dance sections

Act I: Shtick

1. Opening Piano
2. Sextet Jam
3. I Get Along Without You
4. Ruifrok Song
5. Clowns/Armstrong
6. Faux Fosse
7. Theme and Variation
8. Rail Blues
9. Hooker: I Wanna Walk
10. Men's March
11. Homecoming/Berry/Mersey

Act II: Bare Bones

1. Adagop 6/8 Adagio
2. Olimpiade - Ha-ha
3. Andante - Maestoso
4. Finale

Act III: Food

1. Palm Court Suite
2. Three Fishes
3. Celeste/Jitterbug
4. As Time Goes By
5. One More For My Baby
6. Mortons
7. Finale

Runtime
01:13:26
Other program information

Ballet Mistress: Shelley Washington
Manager for Twyla Tharp: Pennie Curry
Music Director and Pianist: Sterling Smith

From the premiere program: "Twyla Tharp wishes to thank the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Ohio State University for their support during the 1992 Tharp residency to create Cutting Up in Columbus. Ohio.

Tharp Productions gratefully acknowledges the generous support provided by the Avedon Studio, Leibovitz Studio, MPL Productions, Isaac Mizrahi Studio and WNET Great Performances." 

Cutting Up is a three-act roadshow headlined by Tharp and Baryshnikov. The opening act is a quick succession of flashy dance numbers. Company members join Tharp and Baryshnikov in various groupings for each section.

Act II is a duet for Tharp and Baryshnikov. The phrases combine their divergent dance techniques and histories in a playful competition. “Bare Bones” was later restructured as a solo for Baryshnikov called Pergolesi.  

The final act traces the history of social dance in American clubs and ballrooms, from the Palm Court in 1917 to Morton’s LA in 1992. 

  • Tharp and Baryshnikov in a promotional photo.

    <p>©Annie Leibovitz</p>
  • Tharp and Baryshnikov in "Act II - Bare Bones."

    <p>© Kevin Fitzsimons</p>
Videos
Video URL
Video Description

Excerpts from Acts II & III.

Full music program

1. Jumpin' Tonight
by Sterling Smith

2. I Get Along Without You Very Well
Written by Hoagy Carmichael
Performed by Chet Baker

3. Song Without Words
by Henri Ruifrock

4. Rocks
By Sterling Smith

5. Who Sit
by Louis Armstrong

6. Faux Fosse
by Sterling Smith

7. Variations on Ruifrocks's "Song Without Words"
by Sterling Smith

8. Rail Blues
by Sterling Smith

9. I Wanna Walk
by John Lee Hooker

10. Noyz In The Hood
by Sterling Smith

11. Homecoming
by Sterling Smith

12. Ferry Cross the Mercy
by Gerard Marsden

13. Music composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, circa 1730
I: Adagio from 1st movement of Sinfonia No. 5 in F Minor
II:Andante from 3rd movement of Adriano in Siria
III: Adagio from 1st movement of Sinfonia No. 5 in F Minor\
IV: Allegro from 1st movement of Olimpiade
V: Vivace from 3rd movement of Sinfonia No. 3 in A
VI: Andante from 2nd movement of Sinfonia in F Major
VII: Maestoso from 1st movement of Sinfonia in F Major
VIII:Allegro from 1st movement of Adriano in Siria

14. Two Step, Slow Drag, Waltz, Tango, Go Go
Arranged by Sterling Smith

15. Three Little Fishes
By Saxie Dowell

16. Celeste Boogie
by Sterling Smith

17. Jitterbug Boogie
by Sterling Smith

18. As Time Goes By
by Herman Hupfeld

19. One More For The Road
Sung by Frank Sinatra

20. Groove
by Sterling Smith

21. Finale
by Sterling Smith

Music details
Audio sample

Adagio from 1st Movement of Sinfonia No. 5 in F minor
Composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, circa 1730

Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Kravis Center
West Palm Beach, FL
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Warner Theatre
Washington, DC
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Benedum Center
Pittsburgh, PA
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Kravis Center
West Palm Beach, FL
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Jackie Gleason Theater
Miami Beach, FL
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Cutting Up | Twyla Tharp Dance
Texas A&M Rudder Auditorium
College Station, TX
Cutting Up (premiere) | Twyla Tharp Dance
Wexner Center for the Arts
Columbus, OH