Word: tharpe
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...BOTTOM LINE: Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov offer star power, high-flying moments and a little too much kitsch...
THIS HAS BEEN A BUMPER YEAR for Twyla Tharp. In January she staged a triumphant show of her quirky, inventive choreography at Manhattan's City Center. Next came a stint in Hollywood doing the dances for I'll Do Anything (to be released in 1993), and then the publication of her intelligent, candid-to-a-fault autobiography, Push Comes to Shove (Bantam; $24.50). That's enough for most busy artists, but energy is Tharp's signature both in choreography and in life. She has now renewed her partnership with Mikhail Baryshnikov for a 24-city national tour that started...
During the 1970s, when the pair discovered each other, it seemed like a bizarre match: Baryshnikov, the supreme classical-ballet stylist, and Tharp, whose roots were in '60s rock and pop. But together they stretched the boundaries of dance. Tharp was one of many choreographers who were trying to harness their talents to the Russian's genius, and mostly these efforts flopped. But her Push Comes to Shove (1976) showed a different, up-to-the- minute Baryshnikov -- impish, racy and reckless -- and a new idiom for classical ballet...
Much has changed over the years. Tharp is 51 and losing some of her plasticity, if none of her cheek. Baryshnikov is 44. Because of recurrent knee problems, his famous jump has been curtailed and he cannot lift Tharp, but his technique is as pure and liquid as ever. The evening, with mostly new works, tries to cope with the physical realities that confront them both and is only partly successful...
...worst comes first. A medley all too aptly titled Schtick is stale, botched Broadway, except for a fleeting, funny solo for Baryshnikov composed of stock classical-ballet flourishes. This kind of parody is familiar, but Tharp wisely keeps it light and witty. The heart of the evening is a suite for the two stars set to Pergolesi -- dreamy, deeply musical, full of surprising yet harmonious moves. In a zippy finale, the stars cavort, and six fine young backup dancers finally get to strut some very flashy stuff...