Kenneth Tharp

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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[]

  1. ^ "Tharp, Kenneth Olumuyiwa". Who's Who and Who was who. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  2. ^ Fellows Profile Clore Leadership Programme
  3. ^ "Tharp appointed chief exec of The Place", The Stage, 12 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp OBE to stand down as Chief Executive of The Place". www.theplace.org.uk. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  5. ^ Georgia Snow, "Kenneth Tharp steps down from the Place after nine years", The Stage, 8 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE Appointed As Our New Director", Africa Centre.
  7. ^ Giverny Masso, "Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp named director of the Africa Centre in London", The Stage, 10 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Kenneth Tharp Announced As New Director Of The Africa Centre", The Voice, 10 May 2018.
  9. ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B10.
  10. ^ "Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday honours list 2017", One Dance UK, 16 June 2017.
  11. ^ "The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2015 - Dance", Evening Standard, 16 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Kenneth Tharp Chief Executive of The Place announced as one of London's 1000 Most Influential People", The Place, 17 September 2015.

External links[]

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