Fresh Air Weekend: Twyla Tharp; Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Fresh Air

Published April 17, 2021 at 9:00 AM EDT

Twyla Tharp, shown above at Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2008, says the pandemic has impacted her body: "In terms of routine, discipline, just ordinary day-to-day activities — the body doesn't know itself at the moment."

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

'Dance Can Give Community': Twyla Tharp On Choreographing Through Lockdown: Twyla Moves, a new documentary by PBS American Masters, tells the story of the legendary choreographer, who got her start performing on subway platforms and rooftops in the 1960s.

Newly Unearthed 1965 Album Represents Hasaan Ibn Ali's Posthumous Vindication: The jazz pianist only recorded two albums, the second of which was long believed to be lost. Now, the rediscovery of Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Session is cause for renewed celebration.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. On 'The Black Church' And His Own Bargain With Jesus: When he was 12, Gates made a bargain with Jesus in an attempt to save his mother's life. He talks about how that altered his own life, and his new book and PBS series, The Black Church.

You can listen to the original interviews and review here:

'Dance Can Give Community': Twyla Tharp On Choreographing Through Lockdown

Newly Unearthed 1965 Album Represents Hasaan Ibn Ali's Posthumous Vindication

Henry Louis Gates Jr. On 'The Black Church' And His Own Bargain With Jesus