The Joyce Theater Foundation is proud to present Twyla Tharp, one of the century’s most treasured artists, as she celebrates fifty years of dance making with a program of all new work.
The double bill of premieres, on November 17 through November 22 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, begins with a vibrant introductory “Fanfare” followed by “Preludes and Fugues,” set to J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. The dance radiates with Tharp’s generous spirit, humanity, and rigor. “Yowzie,” the second premiere, is a humorous work set to a wild, raucous, and jazzy score. With immaculate technique and joy, Tharp’s hand chosen and meticulously rehearsed group brings her choreography to life. In each premiere, Tharp turns her decades of experience—dances for Hollywood films, television, and the Broadway stage, ballets, modern dances—into living proof that time is her partner as she continues to deepen and expand her singular imagination.
Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Ms. Tharp has choreographed more than one hundred sixty works: one hundred twenty-nine dances, twelve television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows and two figure skating routines. She received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, nineteen honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President’s Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. Her many grants include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She 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.
The David H. Koch Theater is located on the south side of the main plaza of Lincoln Center, adjacent to the Metropolitan Opera House and David Geffin Hall. The Theater is home to the New York City Ballet, was designed by architect Philip Johnson and opened on April 23, 1964. The Theater is owned by the City of New York, which has given funds for its refurbishment and which provides an operating subsidy through the Department of Cultural Affairs. The Theater is managed by City Center of Music and Drama, Inc.
The 7,875 square foot Promenade area features inlaid Travertine marble floors, forty-foot gold leaf ceilings, dramatic spiral staircases and balconies overlooking the fountain in the Plaza of Lincoln Center. The Auditorium seats 2,586 with five Ring levels studded with “jewel” faceted lights. An immense spherical chandelier is the centerpiece of the ornately paneled gold ceiling.
The New York State Theater was built with funds from the State of New York as part of New York State’s cultural participation in the 1964–1965 World’s Fair. The theater was designed by architect Philip Johnson and opened on April 23, 1964. After the Fair, the State transferred ownership of the theater to the City of New York.
The theater is home to the New York City Ballet, and was the former home of the New York City Opera. Along with the opera and ballet, an early tenant of the theater was the Music Theater of Lincoln Center. Richard Rodgers was its president, and during his tenure many classic Broadway musicals were revived there in the 1960s. Among them were The King and I, Carousel (with its original star, John Raitt), Annie Get Your Gun (with its original star, Ethel Merman), Show Boat, and South Pacific.
In July 2008, philanthropist David H. Koch pledged to provide $100 million over the next 10 years for the purpose of renovating the theater and providing for an operating and maintenance endowment. It was renamed the David H. Koch Theater at the New York City Ballet Winter gala, Tuesday, November 25, of that year.