Named TIME Magazine’s “Dancer of the Century,” Santa Barbara High grad Martha Graham can be said to have invented American modern dance and her influence on dance worldwide is one of the wonders of the performing arts. The Martha Graham Dance Company’s Arts & Lectures performance of the “Eve Project” at the Granada Theatre January 24th showed why. The program which began in 2018 is a celebration of the upcoming 100th anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment (finally) granting the right to vote to women, as well as a celebration of the huge scope of Graham’s choreography, and of necessity has varied to include different works. The Granada show featured Graham’s “Diversion of Angels” (1948), Errand Into the Maze” (1947) and “Chronicle” (1936) as well as a reimagining of “Ekstasis” (1933) by Virginie Mécène and “Lamentation Variations” choreographed by contemporary luminaries Aszure Barton, Liz Gerring and Michelle Dorrance honoring Graham’s style. No one does the kind of precision and beauty of line as well as passionate renderings of this extraordinary artist’s legacy thanks in large part to Artistic Director Janet Elber and the supremely talented dancers in this amazing company.
