Diabelli

Left to right: Memoli, Greene-Cramer, Jacobson, Gittens, Cerdeiro, and Morris performing at New York City Center in 2025 as part of the Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary tour. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Company dancers perform the theme in 2025 as part of the Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary tour.

Halford (in air) with front to back: Greene-Cramer, Cerdeiro, Peters, and Tankersley performing at New York City Center in 2025 as part of the Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary tour. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Left to right: Halford, Falk, Peters, Gittens, Tankersley, and Memoli performing at New York City Center in 2025 as part of the Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary tour. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

The company performing at New York City Center in 2025 as part of the Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary tour. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

Greene-Cramer and Jacobson perform in 2025 as part of the Twyla Tharp Dance Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary tour. Photo by Kyle Flubacker.

Premiere

Date

26 January 2025

Company

Twyla Tharp Dance

Venue

Northrop, University of Minnesota

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Production

Choreographer

Twyla Tharp

Composer

Ludwig van Beethoven (Diabelli Variations, or, 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120, 1823)

Live Musician

Vladimir Rumyantsev

Lighting Designer

Justin Townsend

Costume Designer

Geoffrey Beene

Costume Coordinator

Victoria Bek

Dancers

Renan Cerdeiro, Angela Falk, Miriam Gittens, Oliver Greene-Cramer, Kyle Halford, Daisy Jacobson, Marzia Memoli, Nicole Ashley Morris, Alexander Peters, Reed Tankersley

Covers

Zachary Gonder and Molly Rumble

Number of Dancers

10

Runtime

00:56:00

Description

When Beethoven composed Diabelli Variations, he initially refused the project after making a sketch for several variations, deriding Diabelli’s theme because of its rosalias, or repeating sequences. However, 3 years later, Beethoven came back to the theme and his variations with new interest, ultimately composing 33 variations in what is considered one of Beethoven’s greatest masterpieces.

Mirroring Beethoven’s creation process, Tharp originally choreographed Diabelli in 1998, had an interim where the piece was not performed, before coming back to and revamping the piece in 2025 for her Diamond Jubilee 60th Anniversary Tour.

The opening sequence set to Diabelli’s theme untouched by Beethoven, remains from Diabelli (1998), presenting a simple movement theme – swinging arms, skips and gallops, a basic waltz step. From there Diabelli (2025) completes Diabelli (1998), with the main difference in the 32nd variation – a sextet compared to a quartet in the 1998 version. The added dancers in this section allow for more complex spatial patterns, a visual parallel to the music.

Diabelli is a tour de force requiring technical facility, stamina and dramatic presence from the pianist and the dancers.

From the original program: “Diabelli was commissioned by the Cité de la Musique (Paris); the Barbican Center (London); and the University of Iowa, Hancher Auditorium (Iowa City).”

Diabelli

Premiere

Date

26 January 2025

Company

Twyla Tharp Dance

Venue

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Production

Dancers

Description

Past Performances

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