Dance is all around us this time of year: lunging during a mountain hike, a gleeful leap under sunny blue skies, the pirouette of planting and weeding a garden.
While many professional companies spend the summer reviving after the rigors of the “Nutcracker”-heavy winter performance schedule, opportunities abound for dance enthusiasts to take in free and low-cost concerts, or even learn new techniques. Acclaimed touring companies and choreographers also visit Colorado in the summer, making the entertainment offerings especially eclectic.
June 10-12, Danse Etoile Ballet Company, “Cinderella,” Dairy Center for the Arts: Live violin and a fairy wedding scene enhance this children’s classic. The production aims to apply classical ballet training to contemporary dance concepts. 720-938-3030 or danseetoile.org.
June 20, Hannah Kahn Dance Company, Denver Botanic Gardens: Kahn’s inventive aesthetic characterizes this performance on a free day at the Gardens. Dancers will stage five works with the artistic director offering brief introductions to each. 303-789-4181 or hannah kahndance.org.
June 27-July 23, International Summer Dance Institute, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre: Cleo Parker Robinson brings in master artists and choreographers from around the globe to work with dancers of all ages and skill levels. Tuition options range from $64-$190, or $15- $18 for individual classes. 303-295-1759, ext. 10, or cleoparkerdance.org.
July 9-10, Dance Gala, Colorado College: University faculty and alumni choreography is at the heart of this concert taking place during the Extraordinary Dance! Festival, June 27-July 15. The event includes workshops with Brazilian modern dancer Rosangela Silvestra and American tribal dancer Rachel Brice. Artsfestival.coloradocollege.edu.
July 14-Aug.6, Aspen Dance Festival, Aspen District Theatre: This year’s Aspen Dance Festival, hosted by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, includes performances by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the Trey McIntyre Project, Complexions, the kid-friendly Fred Garbo Inflatable Theatre, and mixed repertory shows by the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. 970-925-6098 or aspensantafeballet.com.
July 21-22, Theatre in the Park performance of “Ferdinand the Bull,” Civic Center: Ballet Arts Theatre presents this free outdoor concert. The company also is engaged in a fundraising and education campaign to benefit the historic mountain village of Brookvale, which it hopes to transform into an arts enclave. 303-825-7570.
July 30, Interweave Dance Theatre, Charlotte Irey Theatre, CU-Boulder: The resident company of the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop celebrates its 25th season with two concerts featuring 10 jazz and modern dances. Shows correspond with the 27th-annual Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop, July 16-30. 303-449-0399 or BoulderJazzDanceWorkshop.com.
July 30-Aug. 7, Vail International Dance Festival, Gerald Ford Amphitheater and Vilar Center for the Arts: This year’s festival includes selections from the Don Quixote Ballet Suite performed by Argentina’s Iñaki Ballet Concierto, “A Choreographers Collection” and a world premiere from the Colorado Ballet, two evenings of classical and contemporary solos and duets, and the hip-hop fusion troupe Fly Dance Company. 970-845-8497, 888-920-2787 or vvf.org.
July 31, Aerial Dance Festival 2005 opening, Chautauqua Auditorium: Aerial artists in Boulder’s Frequent Flyers Productions team with the Colorado Music Festival Chamber Orchestra for this performance, which is followed by two weeks of shows and classes about the art of high-flying movement. The kickoff concert spotlights French aerialist Frederique Debitte and Schubert’s Symphony No. 8. Additional Aerial Dance Festival performances happen Aug. 5-7 at the Dairy Center for the Arts. 303-245-8272, or frequentflyers.org.
Aug. 5, Speaking of Dance, Skyline Park: This community dance company mounts a free lunchtime show sponsored by the city of Denver. The concert includes the duet “The Puzzle and the Path,” the improve series “Taste Test,” and the 3-year-old altruistic dance set to music by Ofra Haza, “Prayer for Peace.” 303-722-0902 or speakingofdance.org.
Aug. 20-21, Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, Chautauqua Auditorium: This is the world premiere of “Le Ballet Star,” the latest platform for artistic director Robert Sher-Machherndl to push perceptions of dance and transform the ballet vocabulary. With guest Valerie Madonia, formerly of The Joffrey Ballet. Tickets through Ticketwest.
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-820-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
