Twyla Tharp is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the company in 1991. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov is a Latvian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male classical ballet dancer of the 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently became a noted dance director.
Movin' Out is a 2002 jukebox musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel. Conceived and created by Twyla Tharp, the musical tells the story of a generation of American youth growing up on Long Island during the 1960s and their experiences with the Vietnam War. The principal characters are drawn from those who appeared in various Joel tunes: high school sweethearts Brenda and Eddie, James ("James"), Judy, Sergeant O'Leary and Tony. The show diverts from the traditional musical in that it essentially is a series of dances linked by a thin plot, and none of the dancers sing. Instead, all the vocals are performed by a pianist and band suspended on a platform above the stage while the dancers act out the songs' lyrics, basically making the show a rock ballet.
John Selya is a professional dancer and choreographer. Selya was born in New York City and trained at the School of American Ballet. He joined the American Ballet Theatre in 1988, where he danced roles such as Birbanto and Lankendem in Le Corsaire, Lead Gypsy in Don Quixote, Head Fakir in La Bayadere, Dr. Coppelius in Coppelia, and an Ugly Stepsister in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella. He choreographed several ballets for the company, including Moondance, Jack and Jill, Don't Panic, Turnstile, and Disposition. In 2000, Selya joined Twyla Tharp Dance.
Angel Corella López is a Spanish former principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and guest artist with The Royal Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, La Scala and the Australian Ballet among many others. Since the 2014/2015 season, he has been the Artistic Director of Philadelphia Ballet.
Contemporary ballet is a genre of dance that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows a greater range of movement of the upper body and is not constrained to the rigorously defined body lines and forms found in traditional, classical ballet. Many of its attributes come from the ideas and innovations of 20th-century modern dance, including floor work and turn-in of the legs. The style also contains many movements emphasizing the body's flexibility.
The Times They Are a-Changin' was a 2006 dance musical featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, conceived, directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp.
Ashley Tuttle is an American musical theatre actress and dancer who is best known for her role in the musical Movin' Out, which earned her a Tony Award nomination in the category of "Best Performance by a Featured Actress".
Desmond Richardson is an American dancer, actor and co-founder, and co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He has mastered a wide range of dance forms including hip hop, classical, modern, classical ballet, and contemporary ballet.
Jeffrey Golladay is an American ballet dancer and was a member of the corps de ballet with American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
Scott Wise is an American theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his performances in the 1989 musical Jerome Robbins' Broadway, which earned him a Tony Award, and in the 2002 film Chicago.
Kevin McKenzie is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. A former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, he then served as the company's artistic director from 1992 to 2022.
Holly Cruikshank is an American dancer. She is known for her role as Brenda in the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp musical Movin' Out, and has also danced lead roles in two other Tony-award-winning Broadway musicals: Fosse and Contact. She has appeared as one of the house dancers on the NBC variety-competition show, The Singing Bee.
Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to a principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.
Susan Jaffe is an American ballet dancer and arts administrator. She is currently the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre, where she had danced for 22 years and held the rank of principal dancer. She previously served as the dean of the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the artistic director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Come Fly Away is a dance revue conceived, directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, around the songs of Frank Sinatra. The musical, set in a New York City nightclub, follows four couples as they look for love.
Charlie Neshyba-Hodges is a contemporary American dancer.
Elizabeth Parkinson is an American stage actress and dancer. She is best known for playing Brenda in the original production of the musical Movin' Out. For this performance she was nominated for the 2003 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and won the 2003 Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer.
Catherine Hurlin is an American ballet dancer. She joined the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in 2014 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022.
Nine Sinatra Songs is a ballet choreographed by Twyla Tharp to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. The ballet is danced by seven couples, portraying different stages of romantic relationships, with ballroom dancing incorporated into the choreography. The ballet was made for Twyla Tharp Dance, and premiered on October 14, 1982, at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, Canada.
