Twyla Tharp: 'My Way' is an Encapsulation of Time'

In an article published on March 5, The New York Times features dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp and speaks to her about hew new show 'Come Fly Away' which is currently in previews and is set to open March 25 at the Marquis Theatre. 

Tharp had previously delved into the musical world of Frank Sinatra with her piece 'Nine Sinatra Songs', an acclaimed work for fourteen dancers which had its world premiere with Twyla Tharp Dance in 1982. The article speaks of the sustainability of Tharp's creation. "Her dances over the years to Sinatra's music are especially potent, diving beneath the surface of relationships to expose their beauty and flaws. As Sinatra once told Ms. Tharp, "You give me class." 

"Ms. Tharp's relationship with Sinatra, who died in 1998, was pragmatic; they were friendly but didn't know each other that well, though at one point, she said, he told her that he'd always wanted to be a dancer. "And I said: ‘Well, you know, Frank, you danced awfully good in the movies. Actually you are a dancer. Don't quit your day job.' We went out to dinner."

Tharp also expresses that a natural evolution has occurred since her work on 'Nina Sinatra Songs'. The article explains, "In "Come Fly Away" three numbers remain intact from "Nine Sinatra Songs": "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)," "That's Life" and "My Way." But beyond choreography the connections between productions are more grounded in characterization than in actual movement. It's as if the couples in "Nine Sinatra Songs" are showing us what they might look like in the morning. To varying degrees, they let their guard down.

"When I did ‘Nine Sinatra Songs,' I couldn't have told you who these people were," Ms. Tharp said. "Nor could I have structured a piece that would keep them all bouncing in the air simultaneously, have their stories evolve, put them in a place and give you a time frame that starts here and goes there."

As for the legendary song 'My Way', Tharp says, "It's an encapsulation of time," she said. "It's encoding time. The dancers are different, although dancers are dancers are dancers. This is the strange thing: Dancers don't age."

To read the rest of the article in The New York Times, click here.

COME FLY AWAY follows four couples as they fall in and out of love during one song and dance filled evening at a crowded nightclub. Blending the legendary vocals of Frank Sinatra with a live on stage 19-piece big band and 15 of the world's finest dancers, COME FLY AWAY weaves an unparalleled hit parade of classics, including "Fly Me To The Moon," "My Way," and "That's Life" into a soaring musical fantasy of romance and seduction.

The show's score combines classic and newly discovered vocal performances from the Sinatra archives along with signature arrangements (Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Quincy Jones) as well as brand new charts for this fresh innovative musical.

COME FLY AWAY is the next and most elaborate chapter in one of the most fruitful collaborations in contemporary dance. Twyla Tharp's creative relationship with the music of Frank Sinatra began in 1976 with the premiere of Once More Frank, a duet created for the American Ballet Theatre, performed by Ms. Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The collaboration continued with Nine Sinatra Songs, Ms. Tharp's acclaimed piece for fourteen dancers which had its world premiere with Twyla Tharp Dance in 1982, and was followed by Sinatra Suite, a duet featuring Mr. Baryshnikov and Elaine Kudo, which had its world premiere in 1984 with American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center. Citing it as one of the purest expressions of his body of work, Mr. Sinatra requested that Sinatra Suite be performed when he received his Kennedy Center Honors Award.

COME FLY AWAY will be performed at the Marquis Theatre (1535 Broadway) on the following schedule from March 1 - March 27: Monday - Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm. Beginning March 30, 2010, the performance schedule will be: Tuesday - Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm.