The Catherine Wheel

When Twyla Tharp's The Catherine Wheel was premiered on Broadway, it was described by Arlene Croce of the New Yorker as “a major event in our theatre”, with “dancing of astonishing beauty and power”. It was then completely refashioned by Twyla Tharp herself specially for television, with computer-generated figures, shadow-play and reverse action – creating a video version that has met with overwhelming praise: “if ever a programme demanded to be viewed again and again with a video recorder, this is it.” FINANCIAL TIMES. Set to an original score by David Byrne, the lead singer/composer of Talking Heads, the dance grew out of Twyla Tharp's fascination with Saint Catherine, the 4th-century martyr who was condemned to die on a spiked wheel.