Kenneth Tharp
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE (born 1960) is a British dance artist and former Chief Executive of The Place. He is currently director of the Africa Centre, London.
Biography[]
Tharp was born in Croydon, south London, to Pamela Tharp and Professor Gabriel O. Esuruoso. His mother is English and his father is Nigerian.[1] He attended The Perse School, Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, and trained at London Contemporary Dance School receiving a BA Hons (1st class) in Contemporary Dance in 1987. His 25-year performing career included working with London Contemporary Dance Theatre (1981–94) and (1994–2005). He has worked extensively as a choreographer, teacher and director and as Lead Artist & Artistic Advisor for The Royal Ballet School’s Dance Partnership & Access Programme and Assistant to the Head of Contemporary Dance at Millennium Dance 2000. With composer he co-founded Artyfartyarts, a multi-disciplinary arts group, and he is on the Board of Trustees at the Royal Opera House.
In 2005 Tharp undertook a NESTA-funded Fellowship on the Clore Leadership Programme.[2]
He was Chief Executive of The Place from September 2007 to November 2016.[3][4][5]
In May 2018 he was appointed director of the Africa Centre, London.[6][7][8]
Awards and recognition[]
Tharp was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours,[9] both for services to dance.[10]
In 2015 he was named one of London's 1000 most influential people by the Evening Standard.[11][12]
References[]
- ^ "Tharp, Kenneth Olumuyiwa". Who's Who and Who was who. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ Fellows Profile Clore Leadership Programme
- ^ "Tharp appointed chief exec of The Place", The Stage, 12 June 2007.
- ^ "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp OBE to stand down as Chief Executive of The Place". www.theplace.org.uk. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ Georgia Snow, "Kenneth Tharp steps down from the Place after nine years", The Stage, 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE Appointed As Our New Director", Africa Centre.
- ^ Giverny Masso, "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp named director of the Africa Centre in London", The Stage, 10 May 2018.
- ^ "Kenneth Tharp Announced As New Director Of The Africa Centre", The Voice, 10 May 2018.
- ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B10.
- ^ "Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday honours list 2017", One Dance UK, 16 June 2017.
- ^ "The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2015 - Dance", Evening Standard, 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Kenneth Tharp Chief Executive of The Place announced as one of London's 1000 Most Influential People", The Place, 17 September 2015.
External links[]
- "In Conversation - Kenneth Tharp and Robert Cohan". YouTube, 13 May 2013.
- Living people
- English people of Nigerian descent
- English male dancers
- English choreographers
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- 1960 births
- People from Croydon