Better with Age: Inspiration from Twyla Tharp

Golden Cloud Sunrise, Pearl Lake - August, 2024

​Twyla Tharp is my kind of person. Her daily habit for years was to rise at 5:30 am, hail a cab outside her New York City apartment, and head to Pumping Iron Gym for two hours of weight lifting and stretching. 

She’s also a proponent of getting better as we get older. Big movements, taking up space with the body, creating, and engaging, all contribute to this remarkable human being continuing to lead a vital life.

If you are not familiar with Twyla Tharp, neither was I until just a few weeks ago. I happened to run across her book “The Creative Habit,” a New York Times Bestseller, and checked it out because it looked interesting. I have since discovered that she is one of the most influential dancers and choreographers in our time. In 1973 she created “Deuce Coupe,” the first “crossover ballet” to combine modern and classical in one piece.

In “The Creative Habit,” Ms. Tharp discusses how consistent practice and process is a foundation for her work. In addition to her gym routine which set her foundation for strength and agility, she described the initial stages of her creative process. For example, with each new idea for a project, she’d start a large box. In would go her initial project notes. Then CDs of music, videos, and those were followed up by in-depth research, so that she had a wealth of material to draw from when she choreographed the final dance. This consistent process of using the box provided an organized structure for her brilliant creations, like the Tony-award winning “Movin’ Out,” a musical set to the tunes of Billy Joel. The final box count for the Billy Joel project: twelve.

Twyla Tharp is now 81 years of age, and literally going strong. In this Twyla Tharp Video: Shut Up and Do What You Love, you can watch her cranking out push-ups as a part of her current morning routine. She also continues to choreograph - her latest work is a retelling of two pieces created in the ‘80s. Twyla Tharp: New York Times Article Oct 2022

What can we learn from her? She’s got some ideas in this Twyla Tharp Video: Lessons from Keep It Moving. 

My big picture takeaway is that consistently moving and strengthening the physical body, using the mind to engage, cultivating a spirit of resilience, and continuing to make what we like to make with whatever form our creativity takes, all contribute to us getting better as we get older.

Originally published January 26, 2023