Jam

Rudner, Tharp and Jenkins rehearse at the Judson Gym in 1967. Photo by Robert Barry.

Rudner, Tharp and Jenkins perform in 1967. Photo by Robert Barry.

Detail of the flashlights shining through the costume during 1967 performance. Photo by Robert Barry.

Premiere

Date

4 February 1967

Company

Twyla Tharp with Sara Rudner and Margaret Jenkins

Venue

Minor Latham Playhouse – Barnard College

Location

New York, NY

Production

Choreographer

Twyla Tharp

Lighting Designer

Ellen Terry

Costume Designer

Robert Huot

Dancers

Margaret Jenkins, Sara Rudner, Twyla Tharp

Number of Dancers

3

Description

Tharp’s nod to German Expressionism, Jam is performed almost entirely in darkness. Flashlights, placed at the front of the stage, illuminate the dancers’ clear plastic suits worn over lavender leotards. The costumes are a progression of the cellophane canopy used in Unprocessed (1965). The title refers to “being in a jam”, both physically being stuck and emotionally in trouble.

Jam, and the previous work, One, Two Three (1967) were often performed back-to-back, forming an “opposition pair”. Whereas Jam is chaotic and dark, with its movement hurled far from the dancer’s center (Dionysian), One, Two Three (1967) is bright and ordered, serenely Apollonian, in black and white costumes.

Jam premiered at the Dance Uptown Festival at Barnard College, 1967.