Step into Carrie Diamond’s tucked-away studio, a study in pink-clay-colored walls and muted furnishings, and you’ll soon forget that just outside the doors, the bustle of downtown life scurries on. “I wanted to create a safe and relaxed space for dancers to walk into and forget about the rest of their days for a while,” explained Diamond, director of American Dance & Music (AD&M) and owner of The Dance Hub, Santa Barbara’s newest sanctuary for dancers.
After a long and steady search, Diamond’s vision of creating a “hub for cross-pollination and a variety of approaches working together” has taken shape as an airy, three-studio space located in the heart of Santa Barbara’s Arts District. On any given day, one might arrive to find Pilates instructor Ken Gilbert leading a reformer session, the soothing swish, swish sound heard faintly in the distance as Susan Alexander’s modern dance students leap feverishly in an adjacent studio. “We want our schedule to feel integrated,” stressed Diamond. “Our hope is that a student might arrive for their favorite dance class and then decide to stay for a restorative class.”
Over the past 13 years, Diamond has carved out a formidable reputation within the dance community as a champion for what she lovingly refers to as “the honored dancer,” offering beginner ballet classes to students well into their sixties. “There are a lot of people who danced as children and then didn’t dance for a long time,” she said, “so it can be pretty intimidating to walk into a studio full of young bunheads.” At The Dance Hub, Diamond’s hope is to create an environment of dignity and discipline regardless of age and experience. “I had a new student tentatively ask me if, as a 37-year-old, she’d be the oldest student in her ballet class, and I laughed and told her she’d probably be the youngest,” Diamond recalled. Her company also brings dance directly to those unable to attend classes at the studio, touring AD&M around the city’s senior living communities and currently exploring the idea of creating an “armchair ballet class” for students with limited mobility.