Arena (1975)

The Catherine Wheel (1983x7)

Air date: Mar 01, 1983

Tonight Arena presents one of the most ambitious dance projects ever seen on television. The Catherine Wheel combines the talents of Twyla Tharp, one of America's most imaginative choreographers, and David Byrne, leader of the rock band Talking Heads, who composed and performed this original music score. The starting point of the dance is the image of a Catherine wheel and the unattainable ideal of physical and moral perfection which St Catherine herself aspired to. Energy, benign and malevolent, it is the central theme of the work, which builds to a spectacular climax of virtuoso dancing in the final Golden Section. When premiered on Broadway the 'New Yorker' referred to The Catherine Wheel as a "major event in our theatre" with dancing of "astonishing beauty and power".