Twyla Tharp Kicks Off Exciting Year of Dance Events at Barnard
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Twyla Tharp
DISTINGUISHED GUEST ARTIST TWYLA THARP KICKS OFF EXCITING YEAR OF DANCE EVENTS AT BARNARD COLLEGE
New York, NY - Barnard College is proud to announce the first of four public lectures by Twyla Tharp ’63, celebrated American dance maker and Barnard’s Distinguished Guest Artist for the 2014-15 academic year. In her first lecture, “Considering the Creative Habit,” Tharp will discuss her fierce belief in the creative value of hard work. Dismissing the lightning bolt theory of inspiration, she insists that creativity is a habit: the result of discipline, daily practice, and self-knowledge. As she writes in her best-selling book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, “To get the creative habit, you need a working environment that's habit-forming. All preferred working states, no matter how eccentric, have one thing in common: When you enter into them, they compel you to get started.”
The Distinguished Guest Artist series was created in 2014 to bring world-class artists to the Barnard campus in an effort to bridge the visual, performing, and liberal arts. Tharp, the first artist to hold this position, will participate in a broad range of campus activities throughout the coming year, including master classes, lectures, workshops, and interdisciplinary projects. Full schedule of Tharp’s upcoming lectures at Barnard:
“Considering the Creative Habit”
September 15, 2014
7:00 PM, Diana Event Oval
Tharp will discuss her fierce belief in the creative value of hard work, based on her best-selling book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life.
http://125.barnard.edu/events/considering-creative-habit
“A Late Afternoon Conversation with Twyla”
November 7, 2014
4:00 PM, Julius Held Lecture Hall
Tharp will discuss her current work and participate in a Q&A session.
http://barnard.edu/events/late-afternoon-conversation-twyla
Fifth Annual Athena Film Festival
February 6, 2015
As the Festival’s featured guest artist, Tharp will share treasures from her personal film and video archive.
http://athenafilmfestival.com/
Tharp’s fourth and final lecture as Distinguished Guest Artist will take place in mid-April, details forthcoming.
“Ms. Tharp is one of the dance world’s most prolific and accomplished artists, and here at Barnard, she is among our most esteemed alumnae,” said Barnard President Debora L. Spar. “Welcoming her back to campus as a Distinguished Guest Artist is a tremendous honor for the College and an unparalleled opportunity for our community to learn from a living legend about her craft and career.”
“Twyla’s work motivated my move to New York City as a young dancer,” said Katie Glasner, co-chair of Barnard’s Dance Department and member of Tharp’s company from 1977-1987, “I have no doubt that she and her work will similarly motivate the next generation of developing artists. In recognizing Twyla as the inaugural Distinguished Guest Artist, Barnard demonstrates its commitment to leadership in action through passionate, thoughtful engagement with the arts.”
In addition to the Guest Artist Lecture series, Barnard’s Dance Department has a number of exciting public concerts and events scheduled this year, including 1:25 Barnard Dances, a digital interactive installation launching conjunction with Barnard’s Founders Day and 125th anniversary celebration; Contemporary Dance in Europe, a conversation moderated by Professor Colleen Thomas with Gabri Christa, Mari di Lena, Ori Flomin, Dana Ruttenberg, and Benjamin Van Buren; Barnard/Columbia Dances at New York Live Arts, featuring new choreography by Patricia Hoffbauer, Sam Kim, Pam Tanowitz, and Colleen Thomas; Barnard/Columbia Dances at Miller featuring world premieres by John Heginbotham and Jodi Melnick in addition to a major revival of Mark Morris’ Gloria; and a new ballet by Diane Coburn Bruning, set to live music. For full details on all dance events, visit http://dance.barnard.edu/calendar.
For press inquiries, contact Stephanie Browne at Barnard College: 212.854. 2037 or mediarelations@barnard.edu
For reservations to “Considering the Creative Habit” and information about all Dance Department events, contact Sandra Dos Santos: 212-854-2995 or dance@barnard.edu
About Twyla Tharp
Since graduating from Barnard, Ms. Tharp has created more than 160 works ranging from concert, television and Broadway stage, to best-selling books. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. In 1982 Barnard College awarded her its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction.
About Barnard College
The idea was bold for its time. Founded in 1889, Barnard was the only college in New York City, and one of the few in the nation, where women could receive the same rigorous and challenging education available to men. This year, Barnard celebrates 125 years as the premier liberal arts college for women at Columbia University and remains devoted to empowering extraordinary women to become even more exceptional. For more information, visit www.barnard.edu.
