All Tharp Main Page September 25–October 5, 2008 About the Artists Twyla Tharp Choreographer Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than 125 dances, five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed two Broadway shows, written two books, and received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, seventeen honorary doctorates, and numerous other awards. In 1965, Ms. Tharp founded the dance company Twyla Tharp Dance, for which she made 80 pieces, including Nine Sinatra Songs and In the Upper Room. In 1988, Twyla Tharp Dance merged with American Ballet Theatre, where Ms. Tharp created more than a dozen works. Since that time, Ms. Tharp has choreographed dances for many companies, including Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. In 1991, Ms. Tharp regrouped Twyla Tharp Dance and the company has been touring internationally to critical acclaim since 1999. Ms. Tharp's work first went to Broadway in 1980 with When We Were Very Young. In 2002, Ms. Tharp's and Billy Joel's award-winning dance musical, Movin' Out, premiered on Broadway and a national tour opened in January 2004. In film, Ms. Tharp has collaborated with director Milos Forman on Hair (1978), Ragtime (1980), and Amadeus (1984); with Taylor Hackford on White Nights (1985); and with James Brooks on I'll Do Anything (1994). Ms. Tharp continues to create works and lecture around the world. Vladimir Martynov Composer, Afternoon Ball Vladimir Martynov, born in 1946 in Moscow, Russia, is a leader of the post World War II generation of composers who pursued avantgarde styles in spite of official Soviet disfavor. As a child, he studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory and graduated in 1971. He used the series (or twelve-tone) technique in his earliest compositions, such as the String Quartet of 1966, Concerto for Oboe and Flute (1968), and Hexagramme for piano (1971). In 1973, Mr. Martynov went to work at the studio for electronic music at the Scriabin Museum—a meeting ground for contemporary artists. While there he also formed the rock group, Boomerang, for whom he wrote a rock opera, St. Francis of Assisi (1978). In the late 1970s he began studying early Russian religious chant and Renaissance music of such composers as Machaut, Gabrieli, Isaac, Dufay, and Dunstable, publishing editions of their music. He became interested in the brand of minimalism developing in the Soviet Union, incorporating the timeless quality of chants and Renaissance polyphony into his compositions. Mr. Martynov also began teaching at the Theological Institute of the Trinity-Saint Sergeius, where he has remained ever since. Other major compositions are Opus Posthumum (1993), Opus Prenatum, and a work called Twelve Victories of King Arthur of Seven Pianos (1990). Since the fall of the Soviet Union, he has written works with large Christian themes such as Apocalypse (1991), Lamentations of Jeremiah (1992), Magnificat (1993), Stabat Mater (1994), and Requiem (1998). He has recordings on Le Chant du Monde's imprint Les Saisons Russes and on the Moscow-based independent label LongArms Records. Charlie Neshyba-Hodges Guest Artist and Stager, Opus 111; Afternoon Ball Charlie Neshyba-Hodges graduated as valedictorian of Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts in Natick, Massachusetts. As a soloist/principal with Sacramento Ballet, he performed such roles as the lead in George Balanchine's Theme and Variations and Melancholic in The Four Temperaments, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and the Roper in Agnes de Mille's Rodeo. In 2002, he joined the international touring company Twyla Tharp Dance, followed by the First National Tour and Broadway casts of Tharp's Movin' Out, and later the Broadway musical The Times They Are A-Changin'. Charlie has assisted choreographers Ron Cunningham, Dwight Rhoden (Complexions Contemporary Ballet), Amy Seiwert, Alan Hineline, and Twyla Tharp. He has notated Ms. Tharp's choreography for archival purposes and served as an assistant for the past four years, traveling to New York, California, Washington, and Australia to stage her pieces. Currently a student at the University of Washington, he is working toward a degree in architecture. Shelley Washington Stager, Nine Sinatra Songs Shelley Washington studied with Twyla Tharp at Wolftrap Academy, American University, prior to being invited to join Twyla Tharp Dance Company in 1975. She had previously danced as a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Ms. Washington furthered her training at the Juilliard School. She performed in the 1977 film Hair and served as dance captain for the 1985 Broadway production of Singing in the Rain. In 1987, she was honored with a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie). From 1988 to 1992, Ms. Washington worked with American Ballet Theatre as soloist and rehearsal director in association with Ms. Tharp. In 1993, she was rehearsal director for Ms. Tharp's Cutting Up tour, starring Ms. Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov, Twyla Tharp and Dancers' City Center season in New York, and Tharp Dances' international tour. Ms. Washington continues to work with Ms. Tharp as rehearsal director by setting, staging and directing Ms. Tharp's ballets for many companies internationally. Mark Zappone Costume Design, Opus 111; Afternoon Ball Mark Zappone initially served Pacific Northwest Ballet from 1983–1988 as costume designer, shop supervisor and wardrobe master. He then moved to Monte-Carlo where he managed costume shops for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and Le Cabaret de Monte-Carlo. Zappone has collaborated with renowned choreographers and designers such as Lucinda Childs, Maurice Sendak, Kent Stowell, The Balanchine Trust, Molissa Fenley, Martin Pakledinez, Christopher Stowell, Nicolo Fonte, Kevin O'Day, Nuno Corte-Real and Paul Gibson. As well as his numerous designs for PNB's repertory, he has designed for San Francisco Ballet, Peter Boal Solos, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Les Ballets De Monte-Carlo, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Alberta Ballet, Spectrum Dance Theatre, Teatro Zinzanni, Wear Moi Dancewear of London and Holiday on Ice, Switzerland.