Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Welcomes Twyla Tharp's 50th Anniversary Tour This Week

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University presents Twyla Tharp - 50th Anniversary Tour including two Chicago premieres, "Preludes and Fugues" and "Yowzie" this week, November 5 - 8, at the historic Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway. In a momentous co-commission with Ravinia Festival, as well as four other dance presenters in four other cities, the Auditorium is thrilled to present these two new works by world-renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp. The performance schedule is Thursday, Nov. 5 - Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. Tickets are priced $33 - $103 and are available online at AuditoriumTheatre.org by calling (312) 341-2300 or in-person at the Auditorium Theatre's Box Office, 50 E. Congress Parkway. Subscriptions for the Auditorium Theatre's 2015 - 2016 season and discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more are also on sale. For more information visit AuditoriumTheatre.org.

"We are proud to be a part of the national celebration of Twyla Tharp and her 50th Anniversary Tour, not only as a presenter but also as a co-commissioner of these two premieres. We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with Ravinia Festival, which allowed us to join the group of co-commissioners for this exciting project, " said Executive Director Brett Batterson. "Ms. Tharp is one of the most iconic choreographers of our time and there is no better place to witness her career of creativity and pure brilliance than on display at the Auditorium Theatre on this historic tour."

Instead of creating the "expected" for her 50th Anniversary Tour - a retrospective of her greatest hits - Twyla Tharp's restless spirit demanded she choreograph two brand new works for her troupe of 13 dancers. The Auditorium Theatre engagement is part of a ten-week cross-country celebration, which showcases two new dances, "Preludes and Fugues" and "Yowzie."

"Preludes and Fugues" is set to excerpts from J. S. Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier" Volumes 1 & 2, and "Yowzie" to a selection of music from "Viper's Drag," a compilation of jazz arranged by Henry Butler and Steven Bernstein. Each dance is introduced by a fanfare, both composed by John Zorn. Santo Loquasto designed the costumes for all the dances and James Ingalls, the lighting.

In a program note describing the evening, Tharp says, "Simply put, 'Preludes and Fugues' is the world as it ought to be, 'Yowzie' as it is. The 'Fanfares' celebrate both."

The company is comprised of dancers who have long histories with Tharp, appearing in her Broadway shows, Movin' Out, The Times They Are A-Changin' and Come Fly Away, as well as in her various dance troupes and in the ballet and contemporary dance companies for whom she has created new works. They are John Selya, Rika Okamoto, Matthew Dibble and Ron Todorowski. Newer to Tharp are Daniel Baker, Amy Ruggiero, Ramona Kelley, Nicholas Coppula, Eva Trapp, Savannah Lowery, Reed Tankersley, Kaitlyn Gilliland and Eric Otto.

Twyla Tharp's new works are commissioned by the Auditorium Theatre and Ravinia Festival (Chicago), The Joyce Theater (New York), The Kennedy Center (Washington), TITAS/AT&T Performing Arts Center (Dallas), and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (Beverly Hills).Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation 50th Anniversary Tour gratefully acknowledges: David Herro and Jay Franke, Tam O'Shaughnessy, Patsy and Jeff Tarr and the JCT Foundation, Catherine and Bill Miller, Cathy and Stephen Weinroth and Vincente Wolf.

The Auditorium Theatre's co-commission participation made possible by Philip and Marsha Dowd.

Twyla Tharp - 50th Anniversary Tour at the Auditorium Theatre is made possible by the New England Foundation For The Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment For The Arts. The 2015 - 2016 Dance Season is made possible by the NIB Foundation. Student Matinee Series Sponsors for the 2015 - 16 Season are The Private Bank and The Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation.

Twyla Tharp

Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than 160 works: 129 dances, 12 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, 19 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 1992, 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. Today, Tharp continues to create.

About Ravinia Festival

Ravinia, North America's oldest music festival, stands today as its most musically diverse, presenting over 140 different events throughout the summer. These concerts run the gambit from Yo-Yo Ma to John Legend to the annual summer residency of the nation's finest orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The 36-acre park is nestled in a gently wooded area that makes it an enchanting place to experience music. As a nonprofit organization, community outreach and music education initiatives are our mission. Over 75,000 people are served through Ravinia's Reach*Teach*Play programs each year, ensuring that great music remains accessible to all.

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