Diamonds of Dance

Twyla Tharp Dance’s Diamond Jubilee – the New York company’s first visit back to our Eden by the Beach in ten years – took place at the Granada with live music from the Third Coast Percussion, and was a true tour de force.

The energized performance, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program, kicked off with “Diabelli,” 33 variations on a waltz with music by Beethoven, concluding with “Slacktide” set to “Aquas Da Amazonia” by Philip Glass.

Since graduating from Barnard College, Tharp, 83, has choreographed more than 160 works – 129 dances, 12 TV specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows and two figure skating routines – garnering one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, and a 2008 Kennedy Center honor.

She created her company in 1965, and her dances are known for creativity, wit and technical precision coupled with a streetwise nonchalance.

All abundantly on show at the Granada.