Twyla Tharp Knihy

"We all perform. It's what we do for each other all the time, deliberately or unintentionally. It's a way of telling about ourselves in the hope of being recognized as what we'd like to be."--Richard Avedon, 1974The preeminent stars and artists of the performing arts from the second half of the 20th century offered their greatest gifts―and, sometimes, their inner lives―to Richard Avedon. More than 200 are portrayed in Performance, many in photographs that have been rarely or never seen before. Of course, the great stars light the Hepburn and Chaplin, Monroe and Garland, Brando and Sinatra. But here too are the actors and comedians, pop stars and divas, musicians and dancers, artists in all mediums with public lives that were essentially performances, who stand at the pinnacle of our cultural achievement. The celebrated author and critic John Lahr offers an elegant assessment of Avedon’s achievement. Four supremely talented artists from the performing arts―Mike Nichols, André Gregory, Mitsuko Uchida, and Twyla Tharp―contribute lively and moving memoirs about their collaborations with Avedon.

One of the world's legendary artists shares her secrets-from insight to action-for harnessing vitality, finding purpose as you age.

• An important and useful skill: In education, collaborative classroom learning is replacing head-to-head competition. In business, the best leaders are team-builders who can inspire great group efforts. Tharp uses her decades of experience to explain why teamwork is a superior way of working for some of us and inevitable for almost all of us. .• The essential lessons of group effort: Tharp takes readers through the most common varieties of collaborations, including working with a partner, with institutions and middlemen, outside your expertise, in a virtual partnership, with a friend, with someone who outranks you, plus how to deal with toxic collaborators, and much more.. • Examples from one of America’s greatest collaborators: Twyla Tharp shows how she built successful collaborations with Jerome Robbins, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, David Byrne, Milos Forman, and four generations of great dancers..

This inspiring, encouraging guide will show every reader--from the author facing a bad case of writer's block, to the business person looking to secure a deal--how to achieve his or her fullest creative potential.

Creativity is not a divine gift, but rather the result of preparation and effort, accessible to anyone willing to make it a habit. In "The Creative Habit," Twyla Tharp shares insights from her thirty-five-year career, offering guidance for various creative pursuits—be it painting, composing, writing, or even business and cooking. When faced with creative blocks, Tharp turns to a collection of over thirty practical exercises designed to help anyone overcome the fear of starting anew and unlock fresh ideas. Among her exercises, "Where's Your Pencil?" encourages observation and documentation of the world, while "Coins and Chaos" introduces simple mental games to restore clarity. "Do a Verb" integrates mind and body, and "Build a Bridge to the Next Day" helps clear mental clutter overnight. Tharp emphasizes that sustained creativity stems from rituals, self-awareness, and organization, ensuring no insight is lost. She guides readers through the challenging initial stages of idea generation, helping them find the essence of their work and transition from creative ruts to productive states. In her perspective, an empty room or blank canvas is not intimidating but rather a source of energy. This inventive and encouraging guide empowers readers to take a deep breath and begin their creative journey.