Twyla Thharp Biography

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Twyla Tharp was born on July 1, 1941 in Portland, Indiana. At the age of 10, Tharp and her family moved to Rialto, California. It was there that she began to take dance lessons at the Vera Lynn School of Dance, thus starting her training in which would end up being her illustrious dance career. According to Joseph H. Mazo, “Tharp spent the 1950s studying everything her mother thought might come in handy: ballet, baton twirling, piano, viola, drums harmony, counterpoint, typing and shorthand“ (306). In this way Tharp was already tuned to choreograph in a pluralistic approach, bringing several different genres of dance into her choreography, which she is known for doing.

After graduating from high school, Tharp enrolled at Pomona College and then later transferred to Barnard College in New York. During her time in New York, Tharp had the opportunity to be taught by two of the greatest modern dance artists at the time, Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham. When graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Tharp went on to dance with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Her time there ...

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