Sweet Fields
Company dancers in performance. Photo by Johan Elbers.
Company dancers in an excerpt from the section “Jordan.”
Stanton in performance. Photo by Jack Vartoogian.
Rivera, Stanton and Stahl perform. Photo by Jack Vartoogian.
Company dancers in performance. Photo by Jack Vartoogian.
Premiere
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Date
20 September 1996
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Company
Tharp!
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Venue
Zellerbach Auditorium
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Location
Berkeley, CA
Production
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Choreographer
Twyla Tharp
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Composers
William Billings,
William Walker,
Abraham Woods,
Jeremiah Ingalls
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Lighting Designer
Jennifer Tipton
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Costume Designer
Norma Kamali
Dancers
Yi Cho, Jennifer Howard, Gabrielle Malone, Julie Stahl, Sandra Stanton
Todd Anderson, Roger C. Jeffrey, Shawn Mahoney, Victor Quijada, Matt Rivera, Andrew Robinson
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Number of Dancers
12
Dance Sections
I. Thomas-Town (Great God how frail…)
Mahoney and Anderson, Jeffrey, Rivera, Robinson
II. Chester
Howard and Cho, Malone, Stahl, Stanton
III. Chesterfield
Anderson, Jeffery, Mahoney, Quijada, Rivera, Robinson
IV. Come Life, Shaker Life
Howard, Cho, Malone, Stahl, Stanton
V. Virgins Clothed in a Clean White Garment
Jeffrey, Mahoney, Quijada, Rivera, Robinson
VI. Sweet Prospect
Stanton and Stahl, Rivera
VII. Jordan
Anderson, Howard, Cho, Malone, Stahl, Stanton, Jeffrey, Mahoney, Quijada, Rivera, Robinson
VIII. Brevity
Jeffrey
IX. New Jerusalem
Stanton and Rivera, Howard, Cho, Malone, Stahl, Anderson, Jeffrey, Mahoney, Robinson
X. Northfield
Robinson and company
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Runtime
00:19:20
Description
Sweet Fields is set to a suite of early American hymns, most of which were composed around the early 19th century.
In reference to the Shaker tradition, the men and women are separated, making physical contact in only one section. The choreography is grounded in basic locomotion such as hops, skips and turns. The movement is purposeful and unadorned. Dancers cross the stage with loping steps and move in simple, geometric patterns – circles, chevrons, lines. Dressed simply in white costumes by Norma Kamali, the dancers form an egalitarian community.
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Co-commissioned by
Past Performances
Tharp!
Heroes (premiere) – Sweet Fields (premiere) – "66" (premiere) | Tharp!
Berkeley, CA
September 20 1996 Premiere
Tharp!
Heroes – Sweet Fields – Roy's Joy (preview) | Tharp!
Vienna, VA
August 19 1997 TTD Performance
Tharp!
Sweet Fields – The Fugue – Roy's Joys (premiere) | Tharp!
New York, NY
September 30 1997 Premiere
Tharp!
Heroes – Sweet Fields – "66" | Tharp!
Teatro Albéniz
Madrid, Spain
November 4 1997 TTD Performance
Tharp!
Roy's Joys – The Fugue – Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Sydney, Australia
January 21 1998 TTD Performance
Tharp!
Roy's Joys – The Fugue – Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Zürich, Switzerland
April 21 1998 TTD Performance
Tharp!
Heroes – Sweet Fields – Yemaya | Tharp!
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
November 18 1998 TTD Performance
Tharp!
Roy's Joys – The Fugue – Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Santiago, Chile
November 22 1998 TTD Performance
Indiana University
Sweet Fields| Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
October 10 2008 Workshop & Repertory
American Dance Festival
Sweet Fields | American Dance Festival
Durham, NC
July 18 2011 Workshop & Repertory
University of Utah
Sweet Fields | University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
March 9 2012 Workshop & Repertory
LINK Dance Company
Sweet Fields | LINK Dance Company
Perth, Australia
May 23 2012 Workshop & Repertory
Indiana University
Sweet Fields | Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
September 28 2012 Workshop & Repertory
Interlochen Arts Academy
Sweet Fields | Interlochen Arts Academy
Interlochen, MI
March 8 2013 Workshop & Repertory
Sally Ride Science
Sweet Fields (excerpt) | Sally Ride Memorial with University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Washington, D.C.
May 20 2013 Repertory
Pacific Northwest Ballet School
Sweet Fields | Pacific Northwest Ballet School
Seattle, WA
June 15 2013 Workshop & Repertory
Marymount Manhattan College
Sweet Fields | Marymount Manhattan College
New York, NY
May 8 2014 Workshop & Repertory
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Sweet Fields | University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Winston-Salem, NC
April 23 2015 Repertory
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