Twyla Thharp Research Paper

520 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on women artists

Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp, an American dancer and choreographer, was born on July 1, 1941 in Portland, Oregon. When Twyla was a child her and her parents moved to Southern California and the family opened a drive-in movie theater the Twyla worked at from the age of eight. Twyla began taking piano lessons at the age of two and dance lessons at the age of four. Twyla’s mother wanted her daughter to be accomplished in many fields so she enrolled her daughter in various arts and other classes such as French, German, and shorthand. Soon after beginning her dance lessons Twyla developed a deep interest in all the types of dance available to her. Twyla attended Pacific High School in San Bernardino, California and studied at the Vera Lynn school of Dance. After High school Twyla left home to attend Pomona College and later transferred to Bernard College in New York City where she studied art history. Twyla later found she had an intense passion in dance so she took dance classes off campus and began to study at the American Ballet Theater School where she studied with many great dancers and...

Show More
Related

  • Yasmeen Ettrick's Duties At Holy Trinity

    431 Words  | 1 Pages

    Success in high school requires years of hard work and dedication to excellence. During her four years at Holy Trinity, Yasmeen Ettrick has proved herself to be a successful, and dedicated member of the Holy Trinity community. Yasmeen Ettrick

    Read More

  • How Mark Morris Changed Dance

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.

    Read More

  • A Brief Biography of Katherine Dunham

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Katherine, “A creative person has to create. It doesn’t really matter what they create. If such a dance wanted to go out and build the cactus gardens where he could, in Mexico, let him do that, but something that is creative has to go on. (Katherine, Dunham, Dancing a life, 2002)”. It has been said that an idol is someone whom everyone looks up to because of the great things they accomplished throughout their life span. Acknowledged as an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, civil activist and writer. Katherine Dunham, not only normally known for the generous acts of kindness but also for the huge impact she had in incorporating different dance styles and creating them into her very own ballet pieces. An influential woman who supported African American culture and believed there shouldn’t be any divisions between people. Not completely another mother of modern dance but a women who greatly influenced modern dance to enhance it in many ways. Katherine is and was famous for her anthropology movement in the world of dance, her creativity and dedication.

    Read More

  • Alonzo King and a New Style of Dance

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the dance world a staggering number of choreographers have made a lasting impact on the way dance is seen to its audience. Alonzo King’s exceptional oeuvre of work includes him in this great history of significant choreographers. He not only created the link between modern and ballet in the twentieth century, but he bridged the ...

    Read More

  • Katherine Dunham: Activist, Anthropologist, Dancer

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Katherine Dunham led a rich and full life not only as a dancer, but as someone who studied the people she loved, wrote extensively, and stood for causes that meant so much to her. Her legacy lives on not only in the great anthropological studies she did or the important political and social stances she took, but in the modern dance of today. Modern dance, or dance in general for that matter, wouldn’t be what it is today without her studies and influence.

    Read More

  • Alvin Ailey's Role In Modern Dance

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alvin was born during the Great Depression to two working class parents in Rogers, Texas. His father abandoned the family when Alvin was a mere six months old, leaving him and his mother with the struggle of fending for themselves. The inability for Alvin’s mother to find work led to their move to California in 1942, where Alvin was introduced by a classmate to the most influential person that would be the foundation for his future successful career in modern dance, Lester Horton (DeFrantz 1). Alvin was captivated by Lester’s work, which focuses on building a strong body, and made the executive decision to start his dance training in 1949 when he was eighteen years old. Because Lester Horton’s dance company embraced diversity, and accepted dancers of all ethnicities and backgrounds, Alvin was given the opportunity to do something great with his

    Read More

  • Influence of Trisha Brown and Steve Paxton on Modern Dance

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    Trisha Brown is considered to be one of the most pivotal choreographers of the 1960’s as her work and practice shifted away from historically considered “appropriate” movement for choreography. This ideology references the modern era of choreographers, moving away from the aesthetics of Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham who worked with codified techniques, virtuosity and expressionism, whereas Brown saw dance as being of greater importance to the physical and mental process of the performer. Born in Aberdeen, Washington and studying dance at Mills College in California, Brown took improvisational workshops with Anna Halprin, discovering the concept of task orientated work. This knowledge would become central to her later experiments and work. She then shifted her life to New York to study composition with Robert Dunn to further her knowledge of movement and choreography. Physical research that was undertaken in these classes became publically presented programs, eventually leading to the evolvement of Judson Dance Theatre. In the late 1960’s, Brown constructed experiments to play with the dynamics and stability of gravity, using props such as ropes and harnesses to extend the dancers past their physical limitations. These experiments went on to become a working method for the work she created throughout her career and with her company which she founded in the 1970’s.

    Read More

  • Agnes de Mille’s Impact in the World of Dance

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    Her lasting career was not given to her easily, therefore, creating an inspiring story full of hardships and success. Ever since she was a little girl, her dream was to become a successful and famous dancer. In New York City, when she was trying to fulfill her dream, she was unable to find a job in the theatre department. Instead of being discouraged, she decided to make something good come from it. She choreographed her own routines, created her own costumes, and organized solo recitals for audiences to enjoy. This event led her to the biggest adventure in her life that would later impact the world. She was invited to return back to London to pursue her education in the performing arts, so that she could further improve her talents that would make up her entire career.

    Read More

  • Isadora Duncan

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.

    Read More

  • Diondra Wertzner Research Paper

    716 Words  | 2 Pages

    I predict that Diondra Wertzner’s father killed Patty Day and her two daughters on January 3. One possible explanation is that Diondra was pregnant with Ben’s child. Diondra’s father had given her a promise ring to symbolize abstinence and waiting until marriage to have children. Mr. Wertzner was apart of a rich, opulent family. He was rarely home, often missing out on many moment’s of Diondra’s life, which would cause him to be angry at himself, as well as Ben. Diondra once told Ben that if her father ever found out she broke the promise and had a child out of wedlock, “he would take her outside and shoot her in the head” (Flynn 201). Diondra claimed that her father talked like this because he had been deployed in the Vietman War. Another reason why Mr. Wertzner killed part of the Day family was because he was looking for Ben and wanted justice for what happened to his daughter. His original plan was to find Ben and kill him, but since Ben was no where to be seen, he killed Ben’s mother and two sister’s, forgetting that Libby was in the house. Once Ben was charged with the murders, Diondra’s father felt no need to go after Libby, assuming the murders were enough justice. No one had ever known that Diondra and Ben were

    Read More

  • The impact of the French Revolution on Ballet

    2173 Words  | 5 Pages

    [6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

    Read More

  • Jessie Redmond Fauset Research Paper

    365 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jessie Redmond Fauset was born on April 27, 1882 in a small city of Philadelphia. Fauset was born into a poor family that valued her education very much. For high school she had attended High School for GIrls where she was a sole African American of the class. Even though she had wanted to go to Bryn Mawr for college she was given money to attend Cornell University. Fauset had graduated 1905. race had kept her from being a teacher so she taught in Berlin. Maryland, and Washington. Faucets occupations were a writer, poet, editor, and teacher.

    Read More

  • Arna Bontemps Research Paper

    212 Words  | 1 Pages

    Arna Bontemps during his lifetime (b.1902-d.1973) was a poet, teacher, children’s writer, novelist and librarian. As a teacher in Harlem, he began writing poetry; winning many awards. In 1931, he published his first book, God Sends Sunday. Bontemps based the book on his uncle, telling the story of the adventures of a black jockey. After moving to Alabama, he continued working as a teacher and published short-stories. His children’s book, The Story of the Negro was a Newbery Honor Book in 1949. He believed that it was important to record history and to write books for children.

    Read More

  • Thayne Nitesh Research Paper

    446 Words  | 1 Pages

    Being birthed from normal human parents, Thayne Nitesh was born but unlike his parents. From what the ancient text said, that he was born with the gift of the gods, to be an angel in human form. With those that were born with this, they are known as Aasimar. As a young one, his living in a quaint house in a small town called (-- removed HTML --) . Once the parents started to catch word of the other town folk’s talk about him and what he was, this was the beginning that his simple life was going to drastically change. As I grew I started feather started to appear, by my parent's instructions to hide what he was, they started to remove the feathers to blend in with the others. Little do I know my parents were selling them to others saying they

    Read More

  • Merce Cunningham as a Pioneer of Modern Dance

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cunningham was born on April 16, 1919, in Centralia, Washington. At the age of twelve, Cunningham became interested in dance and started informal instruction. Upon graduation from high school, Cunningham began his formal dance instruction at the Cornish School of Fine and Applied Arts. After two years at the Cornish School, he studied at Mills College and at Bennington College; this is where he was invited to join Martha Graham?s dance company in 1939. Graham was an incredible dancer who also choreographed during her career. While dancing for Graham, Cunningham began to make a name for himself in the dancing community. It was with Graham?s encouragement that Cunningham started to choreograph on his own. His decision to start choreographing can be looked at as one of the most important decisions in the history of dance.

    Read More

More about Twyla Thharp Research Paper

Open Document