Join a celebration of dance icon Twyla Tharp’s 50 years of dance with a performance of the choreographer’s “50th Anniversary Tour,” on March 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Presented by the Moss Arts Center, the performance will be held in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Moss Arts Center’s Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.

The double bill begins with one of Tharp’s newest works that premiered in 2015, “Preludes and Fugues.” Set to Bach's “Well-Tempered Clavier,” the piece radiates with Tharp’s generous spirit and humanity.

“Preludes and Fugues” will be paired with one of Tharp's most popular classic works. “Nine Sinatra Songs” presents a glamorous portrait of seven couples and traces the arc of romantic relationships.

The dancers swing, swirl, tango, and cha-cha through a glittering ballroom. Set to Frank Sinatra music and featuring original costumes by Oscar de la Renta, “Nine Sinatra Songs” premiered in 1982 and is one of Tharp’s most frequently performed works. It has become a mainstay in the repertories of professional dance companies worldwide.

With each work, Tharp shows how her decades of experience — creating more than 160 works for Hollywood films, television, the Broadway stage, ballets, and modern dance — has made her one of the century’s most treasured artists.

She has received a 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. Tharp 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, she published her autobiography, “Push Comes to Shove,” which was followed by “The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life” and “The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together.” Tharp is currently working on a fourth book and continues to create.

This Moss Arts Center performance of the “50th Anniversary Tour” is supported in part by a gift from Constance Cedras.

During their visit, some of Twyla Tharp's dancers will lead a master class for intermediate and advanced student dancers in the Department of Dance at Radford University.

This engagement of Twyla Tharp is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets

Tickets for the performance are $25-55 for general public and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.

Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Limited street parking is also available. Parking on Alumni Mall is free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Kacy McAllister at 540-231-5300 or email kmcallis@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to an event.

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