Boggs' Blog

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

2011-09-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-12T15:23:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

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"

2008-11-29T11:41:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-31T10:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Vail International Dance Festival, Morphoses and Colorado Ballet

2007-08-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

One of the great annual events in Dance is the Vail International Dance Festival each year here in Colorado during August! Within the festival this year is the very special Debut of Christopher Wheeldon's new company Morphoses. Kudos to Damian Woetzel, the new Artistic Director of the Vail International Dance Festival, for making this happen here in Colorado and for including our dancers as well. CB is proud to have eight corps de ballet women dancing in Christopher's Dance of the Hours. The debut is is Friday August 10th at 7:30pm in the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Christopher has invited several dancers from around the world to perform with his company and having seen the preview of his new company last Wednesday Morphoses is destined to be something very special. I am proud that CB is a part of the festival and the debut of Morphoses and I encourage all to make plans to attend each and every year because it is truly a highlight in dance, plus you're guaranteed to see some of the greatest dancers from around the world. Damian announced that Morphoses will return to the festival next your so you might as well start planning now.

On the Road Again!

2007-08-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Colorado Ballet is back on tour and we open tonight in Albuquerque NM at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. The presenter is Ballet Pro Musica and their mission is keeping Live Music a part of ballet performances. We are here for 3 shows, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, so if you find yourself in the neighborhood... We are performing 3 ballets on the program and its an outstanding program if I say so myself. We open with Postcards From Vienna by Alex Ossadnik, From Foreign Lands and People by Jessica Lang, and close with Yes Virginia Another Piano Ballet by Peter Anastos. Our dancers performing are (and they look great) Chandra Kuydendall, Sharon Wehner, Shunsuke Amma, Dana Benton, Sayaka Karasugi, Emily Bromberg, Christopher Ellis, Jesse Marks, Sean Omandam, and Andrew Skeels. Wish us Merde!

National Perfoming Arts Convention

2007-07-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to announce that CB will be performing at the National Performing Arts Convention here in Denver on June 13, 2008 at the Buell Theater. A total of 13 dance companies were selected from Colorado and around the country to perform during the convention over two evenings, the second performance is in Gates Hall at The Newman Center June11th.

This will certainly be a great week here in Denver and many thanks to Mayor Hickenlooper for his wonderful presentation to the organizers of this event which convinced them to hold the convention in our city!

"...There's a ballet being fought out in the alley..." Bruce Springsteen

2007-07-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new Blog site! This is where you can find the latest info about Colorado Ballet, our productions, the dancers and (almost) anything you want to know about us. I look forward to giving you in depth descriptions about each production so when you sit down in your seat at The Ellie you'll be ready for everything that's going to happen onstage. I'll also give fun facts about rehearsals and the daily life we live around here. If there's something you would like to know about then just send your inquiry to: info@coloradoballet.org

To paraphrase Al Jolson "You ain't danced nothing yet"