Twyla Tharp: Minimalism and Me

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents the world premiere of Minimalism and Me, an original program created specially for the MCA by legendary artist Twyla Tharp. One of the most acclaimed dancers and choreographers of the century, Tharp recollects the creation of her early seminal works and experiences living among major visual artists in New York City, as dancers from Twyla Tharp Dance re-create excerpts from the works she discusses. Accompanied by never-before-seen photographs and original cast films of several of her site-specific and gender-fluid performances, the program illuminates the progression of the Minimalism movement in the 1960s and 1970s and the influence it had on her choreography. Twyla Tharp: Minimalism and Me runs from Thursday to Sunday, December 7 to 10, at the MCA Stage.

The program draws from twenty important works Tharp made between 1965 and 1970 created for different spaces, including museums and the outdoors, and performed in silence. These rigorous works were governed by systems for organizing time and space which were illustrated in a series of artworks for the dances, including Re-Moves, Disperse, Excess Idle Surplus, Group Activities, After 'Suite', Medley, and Dancing in the Streets of London and Paris, continued in Stockholm, and sometimes Madrid. Samples--drawn from more than one thousand pages of charts, drawings, and sketches she made in this era to plan and document the twenty dances--are shown for the first time and examined from the perspective of the New York art world at the time.

TICKET INFORMATION
Minimalism and Me takes place at 7:30 pm on Thursday-Saturday, December 7-9, with additional 2 pm shows on Saturday and Sunday, December 9 and 10. Tickets for the performances are $45 and are available at the MCA Box Office at 312.397.4010 or www.mcachicago.org.

ASL INTERPRETATION
Sunday, December 10, 2 pm
This performance of Minimalism and Me includes ASL interpretation.