Pacific Northwest Ballet presents two WORLD PREMIERES by TWYLA THARP .
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2008-2009 season opener, ALL THARP, features three works by American dance icon Twyla Tharp. Tharp has permanently expanded the horizons of contemporary dance with her fusion of meticulous classical rigor and elements from jazz, modern dance, and pop culture. Her movement vocabulary—characterized by high energy, humor, and an unpredictable physical daring—is imbued with dynamic inventiveness and a singular musical intelligence.
Opus 111 – (World Premiere) Johannes Brahms composed this string quintet while on a nature retreat in the summer of 1890. The music has a vivacious folk flavor, with the cello in the first movement followed by the viola. Tharp has choreographed three of the quintet’s four movements for five couples.
Afternoon Ball – (World Premiere) Vladimir Martynov’s Autumn Ball of the Elves, for string orchestra, represents a Russian mix of minimalism and post-romanticism that can also be heard in the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
Nine Sinatra Songs – Originally choreographed in 1982, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs has become a popular classic, presenting its view of 1950s social dancing through the nostalgic but sharpened eyes of the 1980s. Oscar de la Renta’s dresses and tuxedos flash with a similar double edge of past and present eras. Choreographing to classic Sinatra―including “One for My Baby,” “Strangers in the Night,” and “My Way” ― Tharp upscales traditional ballroom dancing with the active participation of the female dancer in styles ranging from tango to flamenco to exhibition disco.
Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than 125 dances, five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed two Broadway shows, written two books and received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, seventeen honorary doctorates, and numerous other awards. She was just recently chosen as one of six recipients of the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors.
ALL THARP runs September 25 – October 5 at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center. Show times are 7:30 pm September 25 – 27 and October 2 – 4, with matinees at 2:00 pm on September 27, and 1:00 pm on October 5. Tickets range in price from $25 to $155 and can be purchased online at www.pnb.org. Both Friday performances (September 26 and October 3, 7:30 pm) single tickets are priced at just $15 (two for $25) for patrons 25 and under. Each attendee must present valid I.D. upon ticket retrieval.
