Fait Accompli Fait Accompli

Fait Accompli

Tharp (foreground) with Way, Washington, Glasner and Kellogg during a performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1984. Photo by Beatriz Schiller.

Tharp and company dancers in performance.

Tharp in the last section from a photo spread in the October 1984 edition of Ballet News Magazine. Photo by Jon Love.

The men in “Part II” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1984. Photo by Tom Caravaglio.

Premiere

  • Date

    11 November 1983

  • Company

    Twyla Tharp Dance

  • Location

    Austin, TX

Production

  • Choreographer

    Twyla Tharp

  • Composer

    David Van Tieghem (These Things Happen, 1984 *Tharp Commission)

  • Lighting Designer

    Jennifer Tipton

  • Costume and Scenic Designer

    Santo Loquasto

Dancers

Twyla Tharp, Shelley Freydont, Katie Glasner, Barbara Hoon, Mary Ann Kellogg, Sara Rudner, Amy Spencer, Shelley Washington, Jennifer Way

John Carrafa, Richard Colton, Raymond Kurshals, John Malashock, Robert Radford, Tom Rawe, William Whitener, Keith Young

  • Number of Dancers

    17

Dance Sections

Part I:
Freydont, Glasner, Hoon, Kellogg, Rudner, Spencer, Washington, Way
Carrafa, Colton, Kurshals, Malashock, Radford, Rawe, Whitener, Young

 

Intermission

 

Part II:
Tharp
with Carrafa, Colton, Kurshals, Malashock, Radford, Rawe, Whitener, Young

  • Runtime

    00:41:15

Description

Made for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Fait Accompli is a showcase of strength and athletic endurance. The inspiration for this piece – both the movement quality and the insistent difficulty – came from Tharp’s work with legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.

 

The movement is relentless, requiring tenacity and a strong technical foundation. There are no easy parts – the same level of commitment is asked of every dancer in the cast. Fait Accompli points the way to In The Upper Room (1986), which shares this driving spirit. Jennifer Tipton’s moving light grid functions as a deus ex machine, disguising the dancers’ entrances and exits through the upstage curtain.

Past Performances

Twyla Tharp Dance

Baker's Dozen – Fait Accompli (premiere) | Twyla Tharp Dance

University of Texas Bass Concert Hall

Austin, TX

November 10 1983 Dance

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Baker's Dozen – Fait Accompli – Nine Sinatra Songs | Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

The Pavilion

Highland Park, IL

August 25 1995 Repertory

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

I Remember Clifford – Fait Accompli | Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Shubert Theatre

Chicago, IL

April 26 1996 Repertory

  • 1983
  • 1995
  • 1996