The Fugue

The Fugue
World premiere date
Premiere location place
Amherst, MA
Dancers

Sara Rudner, Twyla Tharp, Rose Marie Wright

Total number of dancers
3
Runtime
00:13:00
Other program information

Supported by National Endowment for the Arts Dance Touring Program.

Modeled on "The Musical Offering" by Johann Sebastian Bach, The Fugue consists of a twenty-count theme which is developed into twenty variations. The theme is modified through a number of reversals, inversions, retrogrades and repetitions, re-sequencing and rhythmic manipulations. Each of the three dancers represents a musical register: bass, alto, soprano. The only sound is the dancers' footfalls on an amplified stage.  

The Fugue is the first work intended to become a piece of active repertory. The works that preceded were created as exercises; The Fugue is a culmination of those lessons. It is also the earliest work to be licensed by other dance companies. 

  • Company dancers in performance.

    <p>©Martha Swope</p>
  • Company dancers perform.

    <p>©Martha Swope</p>
  • Brown and O'Day perform.

    <p>©Martha Swope</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>
Videos
Video URL
Video Description

Tharp and Wright perform the first variation at the Los Angeles Inner City Theater in 1972. 

Minimalism - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago
Chicago, IL
The Raggedy Dances - The Fugue - Entr'Acte - Dylan Love Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance (NY Season)
The Joyce Theater
New York, NY
Catskills Residency - preview performance | Twyla Tharp Dance
Catskills Mountain Foundation
Tannersville, NY
The Fugue | Ballet de Lorraine
Le Cuvier - CDC d'Aquitaine
Artigues, France
The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Ballet de Lorraine
Opera national de Lorraine
Nancy, France
The Fugue | University of Washington
Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
Seattle, WA
The Fugue | Scottish Ballet
Festival Theatre
Edinburgh, Scotland
The Fugue | Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Perth, Australia
The Fugue | Connecticut College
Connecticut College
New London, CT
The Fugue | Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
The Fugue | National Theater Mannheim
National Theater Mannheim
Mannheim, Germany
The Fugue | Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, IL
The Fugue | University of Kansas
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
The Fugue | The Juilliard School
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
New York, NY
The Fugue | University of Washington
Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
Seattle, WA
The Fugue | University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
The Fugue | Edith Cowan University - Perth
Mount Lawley, Australia
The Fugue | Marymount Manhattan College
New York, NY
The Fugue | Dancewave
Brooklyn, NY
The Fugue | Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, NY
The Fugue | The Royal Danish Ballet
Copenhagen, Denmark
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
McCarter Theatre Center
Princeton, NJ
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
Sadler's Wells
London, United Kingdom
Junk Duet - The Fugue - Westerly Round - Surfer At The River Styx |Twyla Tharp Dance
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
The Fugue | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana-Champaign, IL
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Sweet Fields | Tharp!
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Newark, NJ
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Teatro Municipal
Santiago, Chile
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Yamaya | Tharp!
Barbican Centre
London, United Kingdom
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Yamaya | Tharp!
Kallang Theatre
Singapore
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Sweet Fields | Tharp!
The Migros Culture Percentage Dance Festival Steps
Zurich, Switzerland
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts
Miami, FL
Roy's Joys - The Fugue - Sweet Fields | Tharp!
Capitol Theatre
Sydney, Australia
Sweet Fields - The Fugue - Roy's Joys (premiere) | Tharp!
New York City Center
New York, NY
The Fugue | Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Chicago, IL
Bums Rush - Quartet - The Fugue - In The Upper Room | American Ballet Theatre
Auditorium Theater
Chicago, IL
The Fugue - Quartet (premiere) | American Ballet Theatre
Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts
Miami, FL
Bums Rush - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
New Zealand International Festival of the Arts
Wellington, New Zealand
Bums Rush - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Canberra Theatre
Canberra, Australia
Bums Rush - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
The Opera Theatre
Adelaide, Australia
Bums Rush - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
His Majesty's Theatre
Perth, Australia
Bums Rush - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Her Majesty's Theatre
Sydney, Australia
Bums Rush - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Victorian Arts Centre
Melbourne, Australia
Ballare - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Playhouse Square Center
Cleveland, OH
Ballare - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, NY
Ballare - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Grand Casino de Genève
Genève, Switzerland
Ballare - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Teatro Olimpico
Rome, Italy
Baker's Dozen - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Teatro Comunale di Firenze
Florence, Italy
Ballare - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Teatro Español
Madrid, Spain
Ballare - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
Volksbühne
Berlin, Germany
Ballare (premiere) - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
The Murray Theatre at Ravinia
Highland Park, IL
Brahms Paganini - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs | Twyla Tharp Dance
The Annenberg Center
Philadelphia, PA
Sorrow Floats - The Fugue - Nine Sinatra Songs - Brahms Paganini | Twyla Tharp Dance
Louisville, KY
Brahms Paganini - Uncle Edgar - The Fugue - Deuce Coupe III | Twyla Tharp Dance
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, NY
Brahms Paganini - Uncle Edgar (premiere) - The Fugue - Ocean's Motion | Twyla Tharp Dance
Victory Theatre
Dayton, OH
Brahms Paganini - Short Stories - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Teatro Nazionale
Milan, Italy
Baker's Dozen - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls - Third Suite | Twyla Tharp Dnace
Théâtre des Champs Elysées
Paris, France
The Rags Suite - Short Stories (premiere) - The Fugue - Brahms Paganini | Twyla Tharp Dance
Murray Theater at Ravinia
Highland Park, IL
The Rags Suite - Assorted Quartets (premiere) - The Fugue - Oceans Motion | Twyla Tharp Dance
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
Eight Jelly Rolls - The Fugue - Deuce Coupe III | Twyla Tharp Dance
Winter Garden Theatre
New York, NY
Sue's Leg - The Fugue - Three Dances From The Film ""Hair" - Chapters And Verses |Twyla Tharp Dance
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, NY
Chapters And Verses (premiere) - 1903 (premier) - The Fugue - Sue's Leg | Twyla Tharp Dance
The Bushnell
Hartford, CT
Country Dances - The Fugue - Sue's Leg | Twyla Tharp Dance
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
Mud - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
American Dance Festival at Connecticut College
New London, CT
Mud - The Fugue - The Bix Pieces | Twyla Tharp Dance
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, NY
Country Dances - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL
Country Dances - The Fugue - From Hither and Yon | Twyla Tharp Dance
26th Berlin Festival at Akademie der Künste
Berlin, Germany
Country Dances - Hither and Yon (premiere) - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
The Royal Lyceum Theatre
Edinburgh, Scotland
Country Dances (premiere) - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Royal Lyceum Theatre
Edinburgh, Scotland
Give And Take (premiere) - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, NY
The Rags Suite - Bach Duet - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
George Washington University Lisner Auditorium
Washington, DC
The Rags Suite - Bach Duet - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Harvard University Loeb Drama Center
Cambridge, MA
Sues Leg - Bach Duet - The Rags Suite - Ocean's Motion - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
San Antonio Ballet Society
San Antonio, TX
Sues Leg - Bach Duet - The Rags Suite - Ocean's Motion - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
Fort Worth Art Museum
Fort Worth, TX
The Bix Pieces - Eight Jelly Rolls - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
Roundhouse
London, United Kingdom
The Raggedy Dances - The Fugue - The Bix Pieces - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Williams College
Williamston, MA
The Raggedy Dances - The Fugue - The Bix Pieces - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
In The Beginnings (premiere) - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Guthrie Theater
Minneapolis, MN
The Raggedy Dances - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp Dance
Ohio University
Athens, OH
Torelli - Eight Jelly Rolls - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MI
The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls - The One Hundreds | Twyla Tharp Dance
Inner City Theater
Los Angeles, CA
Torelli - The Bix Pieces (premiere) - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
Inner City Theater
Los Angeles, CA
Torelli - Eight Jelly Rolls - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp Dance
East Los Angeles College
Los Angeles, CA
Torelli (premiere) - Piano Rolls (premiere) - The Fugue - Eight Jelly Rolls | Twyla Tharp and Dancers
Galerie Theatre, Theatre de la Cite Internationale
Paris, France
Eight Jelly Rolls (premiere) - The Fugue | Twyla Tharp and Dancers
The Delacorte Theater
New York, NY
The Fugue (premiere) - The One Hundreds (premiere) | Twyla Tharp and Dancers
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Amherst, MA