Master the Creative Process | Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp, world-renowned dancer and choreographer, shares her disciplined approach to creativity. She discusses establishing a central 'spine' for projects, the necessity of hard work, and evolving one's craft, emphasizing movement as a fundamental language and the importance of high internal standards.
Deep Dive Analysis
20 Topic Outline
The "Spine" of Creative Work: Focus and Grounding
Creator-Audience Dynamic and Artistic Intention
Evolving as an Artist: Early Works vs. Later Mastery
Navigating Career Changes and Reputation
Community, Useful Failure, and the Creative Process
Twyla Tharp's Disciplined Work Process and Dancer Selection
The Societal Value and Compensation of Arts
Insights from Dance Legends and Minimalist Music
Instinct, Knowledge, and Classical Training in Dance
Kirov Ballet's Approach to Uniformity in Training
Movement as the Fundamental Basis of Communication
Daily Rituals, Discipline, and a Farming Mindset
Nonverbal Communication and Sensing at a Distance
Physical Training: Boxing, Strength, and Ballet Barre
The Body's Innate Knowledge and Honoring Movement
High Standards, Objectivity, and Handling Criticism
Authenticity in Art and Film Production (Amadeus)
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation in Dance
Creative Tools: "The Box" and "Scratching" for Ideas
Movement, Fearlessness, and Longevity in Aging
8 Key Concepts
Spine of Creative Work
The central focus or core idea of a creative project, acting as a grounding point for concentration and direction. It helps the creator stay on track and coordinate different elements of the work, preventing wandering or distraction.
Cubby-Holing
The tendency of audiences or the public to want to keep a creator and their work in the specific place or style where they first encountered them. This can be challenging for artists who wish to evolve and make changes in their craft.
Useful Failure
The idea that when working, one doesn't know if something is a 'failure,' but rather if it's 'useful' in generating a next question or providing insight. It's about learning from attempts rather than labeling them as good or bad.
Body's Knowledge
The concept that the physical body often 'knows' what it needs or how to move effectively before the conscious brain processes it. It suggests an innate intelligence in movement that can drive physical development and skill acquisition.
Wordlessness
The practice of experiencing life and communicating without relying on verbal language. This can involve observing movement, sensing nonverbal cues, or simply feeling what's happening without immediately translating it into words.
Objectivity in Creation
The ability for a creator to step outside of their work and view it as an outsider, unemotionally assessing what it communicates rather than how they feel about it personally. This critical distance helps in refining and translating the work for an audience.
The Box (Creative Tool)
A physical container used to hold tangible items that represent the initial sensory experience or core instinct behind a creative idea. It serves as an anchor to remind the creator of the original inspiration when the creative journey becomes opaque or complex.
Scratching (Idea Generation)
An approach to finding new ideas or making progress when feeling lost or stuck. It involves patiently trying different things, being open to being caught off guard, and capturing anything that sparks interest or suggests a direction.
10 Questions Answered
The "spine" is the central focus or core idea of a creative project, providing concentration and grounding. It's vital for keeping the creator on track and coordinating all elements of the work, preventing distraction and aimless wandering.
The balance depends on the creator's intention and purpose, ranging from total manipulation to total disregard. For contract-bound work, the bottom line often dictates the range of possibilities, while personal projects allow for more freedom to pursue what the artist deems important.
Twyla Tharp believes that the more an artist knows, the bigger their challenge and opportunity. While early work can have a raw energy, later work benefits from accumulated knowledge and a refined ability to select from many options.
Creators can either work serially, making incremental changes within a known style, or constantly shift to new areas to maintain attention through change. Reinforcing past successes can create a comfort zone but may be creatively stifling for some artists.
Success can be more challenging because it creates an expectation of what to do next, potentially leading to a sense of having "done it all." Failure, on the other hand, provides clear feedback and direction for what needs to change or improve.
Barre work is a set regimen of exercises designed to strengthen the body's structure, improve flexibility, and develop the core strength needed for jumps and point work. It systematically warms up the body and develops technique through a series of carefully constructed movements.
A disciplined routine, even if unenjoyable, sets the mechanism for the day and builds the "instrument" (the body and mind) that can be challenged. It ensures that when inspiration strikes, the creator is prepared and capable of executing their vision.
Objectivity requires stepping outside of the work and looking at it as an outsider, unemotionally assessing what it communicates rather than how one personally feels about it. This can involve filming and watching the work or consciously detaching from the emotional investment.
Competitions can engender a different purpose in young performers, leading them to "sell" their performance and manipulate the audience for points rather than focusing purely on technique. While it can harden them against nerves, it may shortchange the development of intrinsic motivation and deep technical mastery.
As bodies change, it's crucial to respect physical limitations while still seeking friction and maintaining fearlessness regarding boundaries. The focus shifts from physical independence to circulating goodwill, mentoring, and finding new ways to collaborate and offer valuable contributions.
29 Actionable Insights
1. Work When Unmotivated
If you don’t work when you don’t want to work, you won’t be able to work when you do want to work. This ensures you maintain the capacity for effort even when inspiration is lacking.
2. Establish Creative Spine (Focus)
Define the central focus or concentration (the ‘spine’) of your work before starting. This prevents wandering and ensures you remain grounded and confident in your creative direction.
3. Prioritize Body’s Physicality
Take care of your body and health first, preserving, protecting, and honoring it daily. This is fundamental for overall well-being, allowing your brain to function optimally and preventing detrimental schemata.
4. Embrace Hard Work Ethic
Adopt a mindset of continuous hard work and practice, maximizing time and avoiding waste. This approach, learned from a farm upbringing, ensures you get the job done and achieve results.
5. Set Consistent Work Schedule
Create a fixed schedule for your work, even for short periods like an hour and a half daily. This habit of showing up consistently is essential ‘bricklaying’ that allows ideas to develop and potentially become a reality.
6. Reframe Failure as Useful
Do not label outcomes as ‘failure’ or ‘bad’; instead, assess if they are ‘useful,’ ’exciting,’ or ‘generate a next question.’ This perspective helps maintain progress by focusing on learning and forward momentum.
7. Continuously Alter Perception
As an artist, continuously alter your perception to stay relevant and engaging. This prevents complacency and ensures you are always evolving and gaining attention through change, rather than reinforcing comfort zones.
8. Reroute After Success
Following a major success, actively seek new directions and challenges rather than resting on past achievements. This requires finding a way to reroute without abandoning your core identity, as success is often harder to follow than failure.
9. Cultivate High Internal Standards
Develop an internal standard of excellence that is very high, even unattainable, rather than relying on external validation. This self-driven pursuit of ‘I can do more’ fosters continuous improvement and deep satisfaction.
10. Work for Intrinsic Reward
Engage in work for the love of the process itself, rather than for external rewards or recognition. This ensures you are doing something for the ‘right reasons’ and fosters sustained dedication.
11. Practice Wordlessness Observation
Walk through life and observe without immediately translating experiences into verbal dialogue, like an animal. This practice enhances perception and provides a deeper, less limited experience of the world.
12. Anchor Ideas with Physical Objects
Keep tangible items that evoke the initial sensory experience or instinct of an idea in a ‘box.’ These physical anchors can remind you of the original excitement and simplicity of your concept when the creative journey becomes opaque.
13. Adopt Transactional Mindset
Approach all information and experiences with a non-judgmental, ’transactional’ mindset, asking ‘What can I learn from this? What can I use?’ This fosters continuous learning and application across different domains.
14. Seek Friction and Pushback
Actively seek and accept friction and pushback as opportunities, rather than viewing them as fights. This mindset helps maintain pressure and fearlessness, allowing you to address boundaries and grow.
15. Value Community and Reciprocity
Recognize that big jobs require utilizing forces outside yourself and that you ‘owe’ and ‘share’ with others. This fosters a sense of communal effort and mutual support, creating a society as it ‘ought to be.’
16. Train Classically for Foundation
Study classical forms like ballet to build a fundamental understanding of how the human body moves in space. This provides a strong base for developing strength, control, and a deeper awareness of movement.
17. Operate from Truthful Isolation
Embrace a sense of isolation to operate from a truthful place in your creative work. This allows for authentic expression, free from external influences, and helps in determining what is truly productive.
18. Understand Movement’s Primacy
Recognize that movement is the most fundamental action, preceding sound, feeding, and language. This foundational understanding highlights the importance of physical activity in all aspects of human function.
19. ‘Scratch’ for New Ideas
When lost or unsure how to proceed, ‘scratch’ or essay by trying something, being patient, and having faith to continue. This open approach, being willing to be caught off guard, helps generate new ideas and directions.
20. Accept Aging with Grace
Confront the declining body and its restrictions not as demoralizing, but as an opportunity for an ’exchange rate.’ This means giving up physical independence for goodwill and finding new ways to contribute value through shared processes.
21. Manage Audience Expectations
Be aware that audiences tend to ‘cubbyhole’ creators, wanting them to stay where they were first found. As a creator, understand that evolving and changing is necessary to gain continued attention, rather than reinforcing comfort zones.
22. Develop Objectivity in Work
Step outside your creative work and view it unemotionally, as an ‘outsider’ or your own ’translator.’ This allows you to assess if the work ‘reads’ effectively, rather than being swayed by personal feelings.
23. Distinguish Ritual, Practice, Habit
Clearly differentiate between ritual (to accomplish a goal), practice (consistent, reoccurring activity), and habit (doing something the same way). This allows for more intentional and adaptable approaches to daily actions.
24. Utilize Distance in Performance
Consciously manipulate the physical distance between performers to create specific visual impacts and sensations for the audience. This can range from angling for full reach in crowded spaces to condensing performers for anxiety-inducing intimacy.
25. Cross-Train with Boxing
Incorporate boxing training into your regimen for extreme physical conditioning, including rope coordination, stamina, power, and grounding. This builds a unique kind of resilience and unwillingness to ‘go down.’
26. Engage in Strength Training
Participate in rigorous and continuous weightlifting, aiming for challenging feats like bench pressing body weight for repetitions. This develops unique physical strength and sends a ‘rush to the body.’
27. Understand Bar Work Purpose
Recognize that ballet bar work is a brilliantly designed regimen of exercises (plie, tendu, rond de jambe, battement) to strengthen the body’s structure. It develops the strength needed for jumps and point work by evolving movements from bending to lifting.
28. Promote Social Dance for Youth
Encourage young people to engage in group social dances like ballroom or square dance. These activities establish rules, regulations, and respect for traffic patterns, which transfer to broader social behaviors.
29. Recognize Nonverbal Communication
Be aware of and respect nonverbal forms of communication, such as ‘in the air’ sensing, which can convey powerful messages without words or physical signs. This broadens understanding of human interaction beyond explicit language.
9 Key Quotes
If you don't work when you don't want to work, you're not going to be able to work when you do want to work.
Twyla Tharp
Success is much harder to follow than failure.
Twyla Tharp
The more you know, the bigger your challenge.
Twyla Tharp
You have to continuously be altering perception as an artist.
Twyla Tharp
There should be a price point on beauty.
Twyla Tharp
The body is very smart.
Twyla Tharp
Thinking sometimes is really overrated.
Twyla Tharp
You want to keep it as simple as possible. You want to, I think, keep it as close to the initial reason you wanted to do it, the initial sense of excitement, and again, to use the same old word, love, that you had for that moment in time that you wanted to share.
Twyla Tharp
Everybody needs a little piss all the time.
Twyla Tharp
3 Protocols
Ballet Barre Work Regimen
Twyla Tharp- Plié: Bend or fold the body in first, second, fourth, and fifth positions to develop a single center and strengthen from the torso and leg muscles.
- Tendu: Stretch and reach out from the base, evolving to occupy a little more space each time, progressing from plié to straight leg.
- Rond de Jambe: Circle the leg in a full rotation from a full fourth forward, to an open second, to a full fourth back, and reverse.
- Petit Battement: Perform little, quick darting throws from the fifth or first position.
- Frappé: Beat the foot from the ankle, extending with a flexed foot, to develop strength for lifting (relevé) and jumping.
- Grand Battement: Execute big throws of the leg all the way up and down, through fourth, second, or arabesque, while maintaining hip alignment.
Creative Process for a New Piece (Choreography)
Twyla Tharp- Set a Schedule: Establish specific times for dancers to come in and what they should bring (e.g., shoes) to make choices and create structure.
- Dancers Prepare: Dancers arrive having already done their own class and warmed up.
- Choreographer Prepares: The choreographer does their own work to prepare for rehearsal and maintain their physical instrument.
- Meet and Join: Choreographer and dancers meet, and the choreographer presents a preset sense of direction for the piece.
- Test in Real Time: Observe how the ideas actually work in real time and space, allowing for quick elimination of fantasy and adaptation.
Maintaining Physical Instrument (Twyla Tharp's Daily Routine)
Twyla Tharp (as described by Huberman and confirmed by Twyla)- Wake Early: Rise early, by 5 a.m.
- Go to the Gym: Spend two hours at the gym.
- Push Through Discomfort: Go even on days when you don't want to, understanding that consistency enables work when inspiration strikes.