Twyla Tharp takes making dances very seriously but, at 82, she appears to be having some fun with it — and even poking fun at herself, lightly, in the process. That boisterous ballet closes a program that shows three sides of Tharp, beginning with the punchy “Ocean’s Motion” (1975) and continuing with “Brel,” an introspective new solo for the American Ballet Theater principal Herman Cornejo. (The New York City Ballet principal Daniel Ulbricht performs it on alternate nights.) While “The Ballet Master” concerns itself with the choreographer’s inner world, “Brel” zooms in on the dancer’s. Before any contemporary self-reflection, though, Tharp takes us back to where she’s been.

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Persons: Twyla Tharp, Tharp, “ Brel, Herman Cornejo, Daniel Ulbricht, Brel, she’s, Chuck Berry, quintessentially Tharp, —, Miriam Gittens sassily, Jake Tribus Organizations: Joyce, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet