Kenneth Tharp
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE (born 1960) is a British dance artist and former Chief Executive of The Place. He was director of the Africa Centre, London from 2018 to 2020.
Biography[edit]
Tharp was born in Croydon, south London, to English mother Pamela Tharp and Nigerian father Gabriel Oluwole Esuruoso (1934-2013).[1] His father, who had been a journalist for the Daily Times in Nigeria, came to England in the late 1950s to study veterinary medicine at the University of Glasgow, supported by a government scholarship; he became the first African holder of a Doctorate in Immunology, from the University of Birmingham.[2] In 1964, Gabriel Esuruoso returned to Nigeria with his wife, Victoria Wuraola Emmanuel, and their three children, to work as a government veterinary officer; he subsequently became a professor in the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and Dean of Veterinary Medicine, at the University of Ibadan.[2]
Tharp 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 Arc Dance Company (1994–2005). He has worked 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 Simon Redfern 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.[3]
He was Chief Executive of The Place from September 2007 to November 2016.[4][5][6]
In May 2018 he was appointed director of the Africa Centre, London.[7][8][9]
Awards and recognition[edit]
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,[10] both for services to dance.[11]
In 2015 he was named one of London's 1000 most influential people by the Evening Standard.[12][13]
References[edit]
- ^ "Tharp, Kenneth Olumuyiwa". Who's Who and Who was who. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Gabriel Oluwole Esuruoso". The University of Glasgow Story. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ 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[edit]
- "In Conversation - Kenneth Tharp and Robert Cohan". YouTube, 13 May 2013.