Tharp's Impact on Me



Through out this process, I have been inspired and impacted by Twyla Tharp’s personality, attitude, choreographic process, and more.  Something that definitely stood out to me when I first began researching Tharp is her confidence.  I remember in an interview, Tharp stated that she knew she had to be the best at what ever she did.  I also truly admire her work ethic as well.  Tharp grew up a hard worker, and carried it through out her dance and choreographic career.  Having such a busy childhood, she knows how to manage her time and give everything she is working on her all. 

"It's a terrible analogy, but when it comes to your work, you have a war to win." -Twyla Tharp

There are two ideas that Tharp uses that I would definitely consider for my own choreographic work and process.  Something that Tharp does when she is in a choreographic rut is shout ‘Begin!’ and just start moving.  I tend to get into ruts often and think that this could help me when I am stuck or need to find new movement to do.  Another thing Tharp does is create a Project Box.  This project box holds all the inspiration for her current project.  I am a very visual person, so I believe that this method could help me clearly sort the inspirations for a piece. 

“If you're at a dead end, take a deep breath, stamp your foot, and shout "Begin!" You never know where it will take you.” -Twyla Tharp

“I start every dance with a box. I write the project name on the box, and as the piece progresses I fill it up with every item that went into the making of the dance.” -Twyla Tharp

If Twyla Tharp came to one of my rehearsals, I am not completely sure what I would ask her.  I could ask her how I can get out of my comfort zone when I am choreographing or even just improvising.  I could also ask her how I can merge my favorite styles of dance, hip hop and modern, together, like the way she did with modern and ballet. 


Works Cited

 Coutu, Diane. “Creativity Step by Step.” Harvard Business Review, 31 July 2014, hbr.org/2008/04/creativity-step-by-step.

 “Twyla Tharp > Quotes.” Twyla Tharp Quotes (Author of The Creative Habit), www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/148884.Twyla_Tharp. 

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 9, 2017 at 8:44 PM

    *Confidence is key when presenting your work. I also believe one needs to have faith and excitement in their own work in order for it to be a success. I could tell by watching interviews and reading about Twyla Tharp that she is confident in what she wants and commits to it.

    *I get caught up in ruts too- I like the idea of "Begin" because you just start moving and movement leads to both sides of the brain working together which in turn leads you to being more alert and focused. "Begin" may not be the exact answer for any of us but at least it pushes us in the right direction verses sitting and struggling.

    *Her box idea could also be an interesting/wonderful way to remember your pieces and projects.

    *Out of all of Twyla's works, which piece inspired you the most and why?
    *Twyla has a lot of good leadership qualities and a strong work ethic. If you could take only one thing from her and apply it to your creative process, what element of Twyla's do you think would be the most beneficial as you grow as an artist and why?

    -Teresa Urch
    Submitted: 11-9-17 at 10:42pm

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 13, 2017 at 4:15 PM

    Thanks for the comment!

    I would have to say that the top three pieces that inspire me would be Eight Jelly Rolls, In the Upper Room, and Aquarius (from the movie "Hair"). These three pieces are different from anything I've seen and I enjoy Tharp's use of the jazz vernacular movements popping out of balletic/modern movements.

    I think an element of Twyla's that would be beneficial to help me grow as an artist would be her confidence and her carelessness of other peoples thoughts. I tend to not be as confident in myself as I should when it comes to making work and I overthink how people are going to like/dislike the work and take too much consideration of others. Twyla just did want she wanted.

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