PYMFFYPPMFYNM YPF

Graciela Figueroa, Sara Rudner, Twyla Tharp, Rose Marie Wright

PYMFFY… was created while Tharp’s company was in residence at Sullins College, a women’s university that at the time had an all-male faculty. The piece contained a solo for Figueroa which was danced twice: first topless, then bottomless. When faculty discovered there would be nudity in the work, they reported it to the (male) college president, who banned those sections.

Tharp responded by introducing the piece, explaining that the nudity was not gratuitous but an integral part of the dance, and having the dancers stop and mark time where the censored material would have appeared. After the piece finished, Tharp conferred with the dancers and announced that they would perform again. The censored sections would be included and if anyone felt they would be offended they should leave. The president moved down to the front row.

The conflict around the performances sparked student criticism of male authority within an all-female institution.

Tharp titled the work after a New York Times misprint to illustrate the imperfections of institutions that are assumed to be an ultimate authority.