Master Choreographers

One of the most respected and popular choreographers of our time, Twyla Tharp is known for pieces that combine elements of classical ballet with jazz and modern dance techniques. As the San Francisco Chronicle has written, “virtually all dance techniques are mutually compatible in Tharp’s universe, where the classical and the unclassifiable tend to smile side by side.” Tharp’s professional dance debut came with the Paul Taylor company in 1963; beginning in 1965, she ran her own companies for more than two decades. After merging her company with the American Ballet Theatre in 1988, she served ABT as a lead choreographer until 1991. At that time she reestablished Twyla Tharp Dance, which continues to tour internationally. Over her long career she has choreographed for the Joffrey Ballet, New York City Ballet, Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and others, working with such greats as Mikhail Barishnykov and Jerome Robbins along the way. In 1973 she collaborated with Robert Joffrey on Deuce Coupe, a piece set to songs by the Beach Boys; almost thirty years later the pop songs of Billy Joel provided the basis for the modern dance performance Movin’ Out (2002), which has proven a hit on Broadway. All told she has choreographed more than 125 pieces, working in film and television as well as the stage. Notable works include The Fugue (1970), As Time Goes By (1973), When We Were Very Young (1980), Sinatra Suite (1984), Cutting Up (1991), and The Beethoven Seventh (2000).

David Parsons founded Parsons Dance in 1987 with lighting designer Howell Binkley. Since then, he has created more than 70 works for the company, through commissions from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, the American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, the Spoleto Festival, and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, among others.  His works have also been performed by Batsheva Dance Company of Israel, English National Ballet, Feld Ballets/NY, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theatre, and Paris Opera Ballet, among many others.  He choreographed and directed the dance elements for Times Square 2000, the 24-hour festivities in Times Square celebrating the turn of the Millennium.

Mr. Parsons enjoys a remarkable career as a choreographer, teacher, director, and producer of dance.  He has toured and taught with his company on five continents. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Arts in New York City. In the July 27, 2007 issue of The New York Times, Jennifer Dunning called him “one of the great movers of modern dance.” In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was the first contemporary choreographer to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, where he choreographed Verdi’s Aida.  He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, the 2001 American Choreography Award and the 2011 Dance Masters of America Award.

From 1978-1987, Mr. Parsons was a leading dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look, and Roses. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Berlin Opera, MOMIX, the New York City Ballet, and the White Oak Dance Project. As a director and choreographer, he has collaborated with such artists as John Corrigliano; Earth, Wind and Fire; East Village Opera Company; Morton Gould; Donna Karan; Alex Katz; William Ivy Long; Santo Loquasto; Dave Matthews; Milton Nascimento; Robert Rauschenberg; Steely Dan; and Billy Taylor. Film credits include: Fool’s Fire, directed by Julie Taymor; American Playhouse; and Rita Blitt’s documentary Caught in Paint.  Television: Bravo broadcast of Aeros; PBS production of Remember Me, a world premiere production by Parsons Dance and the East Village Opera Company; Parsons Dance repertory production in Denmark; the hit Italian reality television show Amici; PBS production of Billy Taylor music with Parsons Dance’ and RAI television dance celebration of Pisa, Italy. Commercial work: Audi, Mercedes, Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo, Lion pajamas, and Flair magazine. Fashion: Missoni, Trusardi, Ermenegildo Zegna, Roberto Cavalli.

Born near Chicago and raised in Kansas City, Mr. Parsons received an MFA from Jacksonville University under the Howard Gilman fellowship and an honorary Doctorate from the University of Kansas City.  Mr. Parsons has cultivated educational partnerships with Marymount Manhattan College, Broadway Dance Center and Manhattan Movement and Arts Center.  Education outreach, workshops, lecture demonstration events, and Master Class venues include Juilliard, Columbia Business School and UCLA.

Robert Battle became Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in July 2011 after being personally selected by Judith Jamison, making him only the third person to head the Company since it was founded in 1958. Mr. Battle has a long-standing association with the Ailey organization. A frequent choreographer and artist-in-residence at Ailey since 1999, he has set many of his works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School. The Company’s current repertory includes his ballets Strange Humors, The Hunt, In/Side, and Takademe. In addition to expanding the Ailey repertory with works by artists as diverse as Paul Taylor, Rennie Harris, Jirí Kylián, Garth Fagan, and Kyle Abraham, Mr. Battle has also instituted the New Directors Choreography Lab to help develop the next generation of choreographers. His journey to the top of the modern dance world began in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. Mr. Battle showed artistic talent early and studied dance at a high school arts magnet program before moving on to Miami’s New World School of the Arts, under the direction of Daniel Lewis and Gerri Houlihan, and finally to the dance program at The Juilliard School, under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy, where he met his mentor, Carolyn Adams.

Mr. Battle danced with the Parsons Dance Company from 1994 to 2001 and also set his choreography on that company starting in 1998. He then founded his own Battleworks Dance Company, which made its premiere in 2002 in Düsseldorf, Germany as the U.S. representative to the World Dance Alliance’s Global Assembly. Battleworks subsequently performed extensively at venues including The Joyce Theater, Dance Theater Workshop, American Dance Festival, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Mr. Battle was honored as one of the “Masters of African-American Choreography” by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2005, and he received the prestigious Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA in 2007. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and has addressed a number of high profile organizations including the United Nations Leaders Programme and the UNICEF Senior Leadership Development Programme.