Twyla Tharp Dance gives a 60th anniversary performance at the Lensic
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A coast-to-coast celebration of Twyla Tharp鈥檚 60th year as a choreographer brings two of her most exciting dance pieces to Santa Fe.
The program offers a rare opportunity to experience 鈥淒iabelli,鈥� Tharp鈥檚 notoriously difficult masterpiece inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven鈥檚 鈥淒iabelli Variations.鈥� 鈥淒iabelli鈥� has almost never been performed since its world premiere in Palermo, Italy, in 1998.
The second part of the program showcases a brand-new piece, 鈥淪LACKTIDE,鈥� set to Phillip Glass鈥� 鈥淎guas da Amazonia,鈥� demonstrating Tharp鈥檚 continued innovation.
Although Tharp is not touring with the company, she spent months working closely with the dancers in New York City.
Miriam Gittens, a Juilliard graduate who won the Princess Grace Honoraria Award for Dance in 2024, said being part of Twyla Tharp Dance has been 鈥渁mazing.鈥�
Twyla Tharp Dance gives a 60th anniversary performance at the Lensic
鈥淭here鈥檚 a great sense of camaraderie amongst the group, and I think (Tharp) does something really spectacular in choosing a group of dancers who will work together well and dance together well,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e built a bond, and I think that is all owed to her.鈥�
Gittens was also wowed by Tharp鈥檚 unflagging creative energy.
鈥淪he never stops. She keeps going, and she鈥檚 constantly curious,鈥� Gittens said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a vibrancy and an energy when you鈥檙e around her. I鈥檓 sure that is one of the many reasons she has been so successful.鈥�
At 25, Kyle Halford is the youngest dancer in the company.
鈥淚 kinda have to zoom out every once in a while and remind myself that I鈥檓 already at such a cool place in my career,鈥� he said.
Tharp, after all, is a legend.
鈥淗er experience is so vast that you can鈥檛 really put her into any specific category,鈥� he said.
Former Twyla Tharp dancer and company manager Alexander Brady agreed.
鈥淣obody choreographs like she does,鈥� Brady said. 鈥淲hen she first started working, ballet and modern dance were like opposing camps, and she was one of the first to cross over. But she鈥檚 definitely got her own choreographic voice.鈥�
Tharp is known for the extreme precision of her choreography, too. Brady gave an example from 鈥淒iaballi.鈥�
鈥淪he does a lot of complicated cannons. A cannon is when people are dancing a few counts apart. They鈥檙e doing the same choreography and one person is doing the step on five and the other person is doing seven. But in order for those things to make sense, you have to be incredibly accurate with musicality, or else it鈥檒l just become a big smudge.鈥�
Despite the rigorous and exacting nature of the dances, they are not meant to be performed robotically. Brady said it has always been important to Tharp that her dancers use their minds.
鈥淪he鈥檚 like an artist with clay, but clay that can think,鈥� Brady said. 鈥淚 mean, you鈥檇 be a fool not to take advantage of the fact that these are all thinking, creative people who have something to offer.鈥�
Halford agreed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 inspiring to see how much independence she gives us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t makes you really wanna step up to the plate and put your best self into the work.鈥�
Paradoxically, the freedom Tharp gives her dancers sometimes takes the form of constraints. For 鈥淪LACKTIDE,鈥� Halford said Tharp gave him an 鈥渋mpossible task.鈥�
鈥淚n the very beginning, I have this piece of choreography that I鈥檓 doing. But she wanted me to do it without a single transition in sight. She almost wanted it to look like I wasn鈥檛 even moving, because you never see a stop or a start,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he base phrase that I had originally learned from her had these stops and starts, and all these dynamics. She wanted me to eliminate all of that while still maintaining the integrity of that phrase she had taught me,鈥� he said.
Tharp worked with Halford for many days, pushing him to find multiple solutions to the puzzle.
鈥淚t still continues to be a challenge,鈥� he said, 鈥渨hich is exciting.鈥�
The two dances in the program are very different but complement each other well.
According to Brady, 鈥淒iaballi鈥� contains 鈥渁ll of her knowledge and genius,鈥� while 鈥淪LACKTIDE鈥� is 鈥渕ore user-friendly.鈥�
鈥淒iaballi鈥� was inspired by Beethoven鈥檚 鈥淒iaballi Variations鈥� 鈥� 33 musical variations on a simple waltz 鈥� which provided Tharp a scaffolding on which to hang a panoply of choreographic techniques.
鈥淒ouble time, halftime, retrograde 鈥� she does it all,鈥� Brady said.
Dance nerds can geek out on Tharp鈥檚 double-time retrograde inversions. But even those without a dance background can enjoy the humor in 鈥淒iaballi.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes she鈥檒l have these quirky little Twyla Tharp-y kind of jiggly weird hip wiggles and things like that. When you put them on top of the formalized movements, it鈥檚 funny,鈥� Brady said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 another scene where it鈥檚 just two guys. Each one鈥檚 trying to stand in front of the other, like trying to one-up the other,鈥� Brady said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 very funny.鈥�
Still, 鈥淒iaballi鈥� may be taxing on some audiences, because it demands sustained attention. 鈥淪LACKTIDE,鈥� on the other hand, has more of a laid-back party vibe.
鈥淚t鈥檚 got a lot of color, a lot of cool lighting, and this great percussive Phillip Glass music,鈥� Brady said. 鈥淚n some ways, that鈥檚 your reward.鈥�
Brady will be on-hand for a preperformance Q&A moderated by Lensic Performing Arts Center executive director Joel Aalberts.
Brady said he is especially excited to come to Santa Fe. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a great dance community there and a lot of people who support dance.鈥�
