Never a better Neverland!

Our performances of this Peter Pan production have exceeded my wildest dreams. It is rare to see (and hear) an audience completely engaged and mesmerized from the first note played by the orchestra to the final pose of the dancers but that is what is happening performance after performance! There is a wonderful magic in the theater each night along with the standing ovations and yelling by children (of all ages) at the end of each performance for both of our very talented cast. If you ever get the chance be sure to treat yourself to a story that never grows old...

Peter, Tinkerbell, Wendy and you...

After a record setting Swan Lake and almost 47,000 Denverites attending our production of Nutcracker, it's now time to go "Flying." Our company premiere of Michael Pink's latest creation, Peter Pan is opening Fri Feb 24th and you have got to see this! New choreography, sets, costumes and a truly magical original score by Phillip Feeny is your ticket to Neverland.

When I first saw this production in Milwaukee, I was entranced to say the least.  It wasn't hard to realize how much Denver audiences, both young and old, would enjoy this ballet. The flying scenes are spectacular, the story is straight out of the book, and with our own Colorado Ballet Orchestra in the pit along with singing by the Colorado Children's Chorale, this is going to be one of CB's best productions to date.

And maybe the best part is you, the audience, are called upon to participate in a very important moment in the ballet. I won't tell what it is, but I guarantee it will bring a tear to your eye...

Click on the video for more Peter Pan highlights:

What a start to our 2011 - 2012 season...

When Damian Woetzel ask if we would like to have Emery LeCrone create a work on the company and perform an excerpt during The Vail International Dance Festival Upclose: Premieres program I couldn't say yes fast enough. Emery has created an amazing work for us titled Archetypes and our dancers look amazing in it. To be on the world's stage and watch the performance our company gave, served notice on just how good we are. "Although many of the other performers came with bigger names and more far-reaching reputations, the Denver-based company more than held its own..." Denver Post. You can see Archetypes in it's entirety during our "Tribute" program next March.

Speaking of The Denver Post, Kyle MacMillan wrote an interesting blog about Emery a week later saying: "Eighteen members of the company previewed a new work by her (the choreographer’s largest to date) Aug. 8 at the Vail International Dance Festival, and the smart, striking work immediately showed that she is a big talent, one with a potentially major career in front of her". It is wonderful for Emery to be recognized this way and yes, with her talent she will be back to work with the company again. The possibilities are endless!

Last Saturday the company gave its annual summer outdoor performance at The Arvada Center. We did Grand Pas Fantastique choreographed by our ballet mistress Sandra Brown, excerpts from our upcoming production of Swan Lake,  and then Matthew Neenan's The Faraway which he choreographed on the company a year ago. I guess the standing ovation at the end of the evening says it all.

Come see Swan Lake in October, you'll be blown away!

Ballet with Altitude!

Happy July friends! I can’t believe it is already July—it seems like yesterday our dancers took their final bow after Romeo & Juliet. But alas, that was nearly four months ago and we are now well underway with preparations for the coming season. Don’t forget, we open our season with Swan Lake in October—season subscriptions are on sale now!

The dancers start back on July 19, and with that brings great energy and excitement to the building. As soon as their pointe shoes touch the floor we are in go-mode, gearing up for the Vail International Dance Festival on Aug. 8 at the Vilar Center in Beaver Creek. Emery LeCrone will be in Denver working with the dancers and I can’t wait to share some of the fun behind-the-scenes moments with you as we work toward the creation of the brand new ballet. If you have not yet purchased your tickets for Upclose: Premieres, you better do that now as this event is guaranteed to sell out. I can assure you that you don’t want to miss Colorado Ballet 8,000 feet high! Now that is ballet with altitude!

Time flies...when you're dancing

Time flies, literally! I cannot believe that I am preparing for my sixth season as Artistic Director of Colorado Ballet. It has been a whirlwind of excitement since the moment I stepped foot in the Mile High City and it just keeps getting better and better. This August we will leave our home at the Ellie and head to beautiful Summit County, Colorado for the esteemed Vail International Dance Festival, where we will perform a new work by the up and coming choreographer Emery LeCrone. This performance will be part of the Upclose: Premieres on Monday. Aug. 8. I am so excited about this performance! Along with the opportunity to perform a new work in one of the most beautiful places in the country—the majestic Rocky Mountains—it also affords us the chance to perform with some of the biggest newsmakers in dance—Christopher Wheeldon and Trey McIntyre. This will be one of those performances that will be pure fun and excitement! I can’t wait to see what Emery LeCrone has in store for Colorado Ballet.

If you missed our season announcement, be sure to check that out HERE! It will give you all the great behind-the-scenes details on our upcoming visit to the Vail International Dance Festival, along with a detailed look at our upcoming 2011-2012 season, opening in October. Did I mention that our season subscriptions are on sale now?


We hope to see you in the Rockies!

"I got a Little Lost Along the Way"

We opened in September at the Newman Center at Denver University and all I wished for came true. It was the perfect venue for our previously seen repertory (although one was new to the company) but in a different setting and the dancers showed an enormous range of diversity in the program we presented and they very much enjoyed the intimacy of the theater. We'll be back there next September and all I can say is we will be dancing a ballet that is a HUGE Denver favorite.

Swan Lake, enough said, it surpassed our wildest dreams. A production that any company in the world would be proud to present and it was here in Denver's backyard! A special thanks to the 10's of thousand who came. I can't wait for us to do it again.

And now we open The Nutcracker today through Christmas and this year we even have a few shows after Christmas for those with family in town and looking for some wonderful entertainment, after all the presents have been opened of course. We have 4 cast of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince and 5 cast of the Sugar Plum and Cavalier so plenty of opportunity to see your favorite dancers. Don't procrastinate too long to get tickets as sales are already ahead of projection.

I love this city and it's dance fans!!!

The Season (so far) in Review

As I sit here thinking about what CB has accomplished over the past several months I couldn't be prouder of this organization! We opened with Le Corsaire and after many grueling weeks of rehearsals the dancers and staff rose to the occasion to give our audiences some of the best dancing ever seen in these parts. Dracula certainly brought in all kinds of people dressed for the moment (I love being in the lobby as everyone arrives) and given the reaction to the performances a good blood bath was had by all. After 25 performances of Nutcracker and a BIG thank you to all here at CB for delivering show after show after show, both on stage and front of house, we begin work on Coppelia and the Repertory Series with a promise that you'll enjoy them immensely.

We were also given a $200,000 challenge grant in October and 45 days to meet it. One of our board members pledged the last $50,000 and as the final date came we had surpassed the goal without that pledge! So a second challenge was issued to match the 50K, which we did and through very hard work we ended over $500,000! The response we received from our patrons and the community tells me people like what CB is doing.

I wish you a wonderful and prosperus New Year and hope to see you at the Ellie in February and March.