Executive & Artistic Director

Thor Steingraber

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Twyla Tharp Dance

Diamond Jubilee

Sat Feb 22 | 8pm

Sun Feb 23 | 3pm

Run Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes including a 20-minute intermission

This program is generously sponsored by Chris Sales.

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Program | Program Note

The Company | Twyla Tharp

Renan Cerdeiro | Angela Falk | Miriam Gittens | Zachary Gonder | Oliver Greene-Cramer | Kyle Halford | Daisy Jacobson | Marzia Memoli | Nicole Ashley Morris | Alexander Peters | Molly Rumble | Reed Tankersley | Vladimir Rumyantsev

Tour Credits

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About The Soraya

Our Supporters | The Soraya Team

Twyla Tharp

Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than 169 works: 129 dances, 12 television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows, and two figure skating routines.

Tharp has received a Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President’s Award, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. Her many grants include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. Tharp is a member of the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Today, ballet and dance companies around the world continue to perform her works.

In 1992, Tharp published her autobiography Push Comes to Shove. She went on to write The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, followed by The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together. In 2019, her fourth book was published, Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life. Today, Tharp continues to create.

Renan Cerdeiro

Renan Cerdeiro was born in Rio de Janeiro. At a young age, he began practicing various dance styles at the Escola de Dança Alice Arja in Rio de Janeiro, where he did most of his training. In 2008, Cerdeiro was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, and that same year was awarded a scholarship to train at the Miami City Ballet School. Within two years, he was invited by the company’s founding artistic director, Edward Villella, to join the Miami City Ballet as a company apprentice. In 2013, Cerdeiro was promoted to principal dancer by current artistic director Lourdes Lopez. He has performed numerous principal roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Liam Scarlett, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Nacho Duato, Pam Tanowitz, Brian Brooks, Peter Martins, Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Richard Alston, and original works by Justin Peck. Additionally, Cerdeiro has performed leading roles in classics such as Petipa’s Coppélia, Giselle and Don Quixote, John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet and Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake. Cerdeiro has danced at the New York City Center and at the Koch Theater in New York, participated in multiple Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum, and was part of the Vail Dance Festival and Nantucket Dance Festival. He performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; the Music Center and Cal Performances, both in California; Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts; Harris Theater in Chicago, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; as well as the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia as part of the Benois de la Danse Gala. Cerdeiro was named by Dance magazine as one of the world’s “Top 25 to Watch” in 2011. Most recently, he has been guesting as a principal dancer and working with Twyla Tharp Dance.

Angela Falk

Angela Falk is from the San Francisco Bay Area, and she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School in 2017, where she was awarded the Joseph W. Polisi Artist as Citizen prize. Since 2018, she has been a member of the CCN Ballet de Lorraine in France. Falk previously danced for Limón Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Trust, among others, and is excited to join the Twyla Tharp Dance Company for this 60th Anniversary Tour.

Miriam Gittens

Born and raised in Fresno, California, Miriam Gittens received a diverse dance education at The Dance Studio of Fresno. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School in 2017. Following graduation, Gittens joined Chuthis, presenting the work of Peter Chu. In 2018, she joined Ballet BC, then under the direction of Emily Molnar. There, Gittens had the honor of performing works by Aszure Barton, Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Felix Landerer, Ohad Naharin, Out Innerspace, Crystal Pite, and Medhi Walerski, spanning four seasons. In 2022, Gittens returned to New York to join Gibney Company as an artistic associate. In 2023, she was featured in Dance magazine’s “On the Rise” column. As a freelance artist, Gittens continues to dance for Chuthis and Twyla Tharp Dance, as well as share her passion for dance education. In 2024, she was awarded the Princess Grace Honoraria Award for dance.

Zachary Gonder

Zachary Gonder grew up near Chicago and trained at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, under the tutelage of Randy Duncan. Gonder graduated from The Juilliard School in 2018 where he performed works by Austin McCormick, Aszure Barton, Pam Tanowitz, Richard Alston, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, and Crystal Pite. Gonder was recently in the Broadway show Illinoise at the St. James Theatre, as well as its off-Broadway runs at the Park Avenue Armory and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He has performed with Pam Tanowitz Dance, Brian Brooks Moving Company, PARA.MAR Dance, Zvi Dance, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Gonder is excited to be part of Twyla Tharp Dance.

Oliver Greene-Cramer

Oliver Greene-Cramer was raised in southern Vermont where he received his early training at the Brattleboro School of Dance and Burklyn Ballet Theatre before obtaining his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Prior to Twyla Tharp Dance, he was a member of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Ballet Austin, and Los Angeles Dance Project. Greene-Cramer has performed works by Twyla Tharp, Pam Tanowitz, Lar Lubovitch, Pontus Lidberg, Christopher Wheeldon, George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Antony Tudor, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Stephen Mills, Benjamin Millepied, Septime Webre, Salia Sanou, Thang Dao, Janie Taylor, Dimitri Chamblas, and others. Additionally, Greene-Cramer has had the privilege of performing in festivals such as Jacob’s Pillow (2019), Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta (2017), Vail Dance Festival (2023), and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2011, 2013, 2019). He has also performed in works by artists Rodney McMillian (2018, Against a Civic Death), Jack Ferver (2019, Mon, Ma, Mes), and Madeline Hollander (2023, Devotion).

Kyle Halford

Kyle Halford received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona in 2021, where he received the Creative Achievement Award his junior year. Upon graduation, he joined Eisenhower Dance Detroit as a company member, where he performed featured roles in new works by Maleek Washington, Hope Boykin, Tamisha Guy, and many other choreographers. In 2023, Halford moved to New York City to pursue his passion and has been working with Twyla Tharp since, including her new work for Little Island, How Long Blues. Aside from his work with Tharp, Halford was recently a guest artist with Mark Morris Dance Group and is a company member with Skyla Schreter Dance. Highlights this past year include an evening-length work by Alexander Anderson, film projects by Chelsea Thedinga and Dylan Pearce, and a new solo creation by Igal Perry. Halford is ecstatic to be joining Twyla Tharp Dance for this momentous tour in celebration of Tharp’s accomplishments.

Daisy Jacobson

Daisy Jacobson is from Los Angeles, and she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from The Juilliard School in 2017. Soon after, she joined Benjamin Millepied’s LA Dance Project where she performed in new works and repertoire by Millepied, Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Ohad Naharin, Martha Graham, Bella Lewitzky, Janie Taylor, Madeline Hollander, Gianna Reisen, Jill Johnson, Bobbi Jene Smith, and Or Schraiber. In 2022, Jacobson guested with Twyla Tharp Dance and performed in the revival of In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs. Since she began pursuing freelance work, Jacobson has danced in Tharp’s Ocean’s Motion and The Ballet Master for the company’s season at The Joyce Theater, and in How Long Blues at Little Island in 2024. She was also a guest artist at Vail Dance last summer where she reconstructed and performed Tharp’s 1903 and premiered Justin Peck’s new work, Nine Freights. Jacobson just premiered Millepied’s Grace. Jacobson is a YoungArts winner and a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. She is thrilled to be a part of Twyla Tharp’s 60th Anniversary Tour.

Marzia Memoli

Marzia Memoli is from Palermo, Italy, and graduated with high honors from the Academy of Teatro Carcano in Milan. She attended the Maurice Béjart School under the direction of Michel Gascard. Memoli was asked to perform by Gil Roman in The Ninth Symphony and Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. In 2016, she joined the Martha Graham Dance Company. Her repertoire with the Company includes Graham’s The Rite of Spring as the Chosen One, El Penitente, Chronicle, The Princess in Cave of the Heart, Satyric Festival Song, Diversion of Angels, Dark Meadow Suite, Act of Light, and Deep Song. Memoli performed works by Hofesh Shechter, Elisa Monte, Bobbi Jene Smith, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Maxine Doyle, Pam Tanowitz, Sonya Tayeh, Pontus Lidberg, Micaela Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Andrea Miller, and Jamar Roberts. In 2022, she performed for Twyla Tharp in In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs at New York City Center. Memoli is a recipient of the Fini International Rising Star Award 2023. She is currently working with Tharp this season.

Nicole Ashley Morris

Nicole Ashley Morris is a movement artist from Sarasota, Florida, and has been passionate about the arts from a young age. She trained intensively with Cheryl Copeland and Sarasota Ballet before earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from Florida State University. After graduation, Morris moved to New York City, where she began working with Kristin Sudeikis and Jackie Nowicki’s NOW Dance Project. Morris continues to perform actively with Kristin Sudeikis Dance. As a concert dancer, she has performed works by Twyla Tharp, Al Blackstone, Reed Luplau, Lauren Lovette, Troy Schumacher, Hope Boykin, Melissa Hough, Josh Prince, and Cherice Barton. Morris has also participated in preproduction workshops for several Broadway shows. Additional credits include music videos for Darlingside’s “All the Lights in the City,” Ben Harper’s “Uneven Days” and “Don’t Let Me Disappear,” and Alison Sudol’s “The Runner,” all choreographed and directed by Sudeikis. Morris is excited to be a part of Twyla’s 60th Anniversary Tour.

Alexander Peters

Born and raised in State College, Pennsylvania, Alexander Peters began his early dance training with teacher Nicole Swope. He was later accepted to the School of American Ballet and attended as a recipient of the Andrei Kramarevsky Scholarship. Peters is a principal dancer with Miami City Ballet and has performed across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His extensive repertoire includes works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, and many others. Throughout his career, Peters has originated featured roles in numerous works and has additionally filmed archival segments with the George Balanchine Foundation. He has performed with both the Pennsylvania Ballet (now known as the Philadelphia Ballet) and Kansas City Ballet. Peters is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award and the 2010 Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise.

Molly Rumble

Molly Rumble is a freelance artist based in New York City. She began studying ballet in her hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia, at Ballet Virginia and Virginia Beach Ballet Academy. Rumble continued her dance training at Butler University under the direction of Larry Attaway and graduated cum laude in 2020 with her Bachelor of Arts in dance pedagogy. While dancing with Butler Ballet, she performed notable roles such as the principal woman in Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain and as a soloist in Patrick de Bana’s Falling Sky. In 2021, Rumble joined the City Ballet of San Diego where she performed principal and soloist roles, including Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote and Snow Princess in The Nutcracker. She then moved to New York City in 2022 to freelance and has since performed with multiple companies and dance projects. Rumble has traveled to Europe and the U.K. performing with the Berlin-based ballet collective Ballet Surreal, has guested as a principal with Prague Festival Ballet, and most recently danced with English National Ballet in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake In-the-Round at the Royal Albert Hall.

Reed Tankersley

Reed Tankersley is from Northern California and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School in 2014. Shortly after, he joined Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour and has continued to perform with the company in numerous Tharp works including In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs, How Long Blues, The Fugue, Brahms Paganini, Ocean’s Motion, and Eight Jelly Rolls. Tankersley has also worked as a repetiteur for Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen. In 2019, he toured the country as the lead performer in Cirque Du Soleil’s Volta. Reed is a YoungArts winner and one of Dance magazine’s “25 to Watch.”

Vladimir Rumyantsev

Vladimir Rumyantsev is an accomplished pianist, known for his virtuosity and ability to interpret the piano’s vast repertoire. His talent emerged early, winning Moscow’s Glinka competition at just 7 years old. Rumyantsev has performed at prestigious venues such as the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Moscow Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, and many more. Internationally, he has graced stages such as the Great Guild in Riga and the Dzintari Concert Hall in Latvia. A notable tour in China in 2002 further established his global presence. In addition to his solo career, Rumyantsev has participated in renowned festivals, including the Golden Mask Festival in Moscow, the Bermuda Piano Festival, The Art of the Piano Duo in Boston, IKIF, and the Mannes Summer Piano Festival in New York. His performances of Shostakovich and Stravinsky Concertos led to collaborations with the Mariinsky Ballet, under the batons of Valery Gergiev and Boris Gruzin, at iconic venues such as Covent Garden, the Mariinsky Theatre, and the Bolshoi Theatre. Rumyantsev received his foundational training at the Gnessin Moscow Special School of Music under Mikhail Khokhlov and later studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Sergey Dorensky and mentors Alexander Bakhchiev, Elena Sorokina, and Nikolai Lugansky. He completed his advanced degrees at the Mannes School of Music in New York under Pavlina Dokovska.

Currently, Rumyantsev is engaged in solo and chamber performances, recording projects, and is pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts at The Hartt School under the mentorship of Jose Ramos Santana. In 2024, he recorded “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Sean Hickey for piano solo, which is set for release in early 2025 by Sono Luminus.