Twyla Tharp to Open The Joyce Theater's Fall Season

Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater, will welcome back onto its stage Twyla Tharp Dance, under the artistic direction of legendary award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp, for a special three-week engagement, from September 19 - October 8.

This run, the official launch of The Joyce's 2017 fall season, features a program that includes Dylan Love Songs, a world premiere reuniting the choreographer with the music of Bob Dylan; the first revival of The Raggedy Dances, which premiered in 1972; and her 1970 creation, The Fugue.

Tickets range in price from $20-$81 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, visit www.Joyce.org.

After last summer's highly successful engagement at The Joyce Theater, the legendary choreographer returns with a program featuring a world premiere and two gems from her vast repertory, one not seen in 45 years. Dylan Love Songsis Tharp's highly anticipated world premiere. A work that explores the give and take of love, featuring a suite of Bob Dylan's most touching songs, including "Things Have Changed" and "Shelter from the Storm," among several others. In addition to the world premiere, former Tharp dancers Sara Rudner and Rose Marie Wright have returned to stage a revival of the 1972 quintet, The Raggedy Dances, set to the music of Joplin, Bolcom and Mozart. Lastly, The Fugue is Tharp's beloved 1970 work which derives its rigorous and athletic form from Bach's "The Musical Offering," accompanied by the dancers' own footfalls on an amplified stage. This engagement and its program also reunites Tharp with her longtime award-winning collaborators: scenic and costume designer Santo Laquasto and lighting designer Jennifer Tipton.

Performances of Twyla Tharp Dance will run from September 19 - October 8 at The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street) according to the following schedule: Tuesday-Wednesday at 7:30pm; Thursday-Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; and Sunday at 2pm. There will be a post-performance Curtain Chat with Twyla Tharp on Wednesday, September 20, which is open to all patrons attending that evening's show. The company will also have a special Family Matinee on Saturday, September 23 at 2pm. Tickets range in price from $20-$81 and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street. For more information, visit www.Joyce.org.

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 has 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. In 1965, Ms. Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. Her dances are known for creativity, wit, and technical precision coupled with a streetwise nonchalance. By combining different forms of movement - such as jazz, ballet, boxing, and inventions of her own making - Ms. Tharp's work expands the boundaries of ballet and modern dance. In addition to choreographing for her own company, she has created dances for The Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Boston Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Martha Graham Dance Company, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Today, ballet and dance companies around the world continue to perform Ms. Tharp's works. Ms. Tharp's work first appeared on Broadway in 1980 with When We Were Very Young, followed by her collaboration with musician David Byrne on The Catherine Wheel and later by Singin' In the Rain. In 2002, Ms. Tharp's dance musical Movin' Out, set to the music and lyrics of Billy Joel. Ms. Tharp later worked with Bob Dylan's music and lyrics in The Times They Are A-Changin' and Come Fly Away, set to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. In film, Ms. Tharp has collaborated with director Milos Forman on Hair, Ragtime, and Amadeus. She has also worked with Taylor Hackford on White Nights and James Brooks on I'll Do Anything. Her television credits include choreographing Sue's Leg for the inaugural episode of PBS' Dance In America In 1976, co-producing and directing Making Television Dance, and directing The Catherine Wheel for BBC Television. Ms. Tharp co-directed the television special Baryshnikov By Tharp. In 1992, Ms. Tharp published her autobiography Push Comes To Shove. She went on to write The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life, followed by The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together. She is currently working on a fourth book. Ms. Tharp continues to create today.

The Joyce Theater Foundation ("The Joyce," Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a nonprofit organization, has proudly served the dance community for over three decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and The Joyce renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther's clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies. The Joyce has also presented dance at Lincoln Center since 2012, and launched Joyce Unleashed in 2014 to feature emerging and experimental artists. To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K-12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists. The Joyce's annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances for audiences in excess of 150,000.