In the unforgiving nonprofit arts world, it is an accomplishment for any group to survive 35 years.
That is especially true for dance, which frequently receives less funding and attention than many of the other major art forms.
Given that reality, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble deserves considerable kudos as its marks its 35th anniversary with “Roots to Fame,” a program running through Sunday.
Over the years, the quality of the company and its performances has fluctuated, but its recognition has steadily grown as it toured internationally and performed at many of the nation’s most prestigious dance festivals.
At the center of everything has been the ensemble’s namesake, founder and executive artistic director, Cleo Parker Robinson, who is familiarly known around Denver as just Cleo.
Through determination, hard work and plenty of heart – not to mention family support and a little luck – she has not only kept the organization alive but spurred its climb to fame, no small achievement in a city so far from a major dance center.
Perhaps most important, Parker, a protégée of the great choreographer Katherine Dunham, and her company have been important forces nationally and internationally in keeping the African-American voice in modern dance alive and vibrant.
Not only has Parker created major works for her company, but she has also unselfishly presented the pieces of many other African-American choreographers. Among them have been up-and-comers such as the two featured on the anniversary program – Roger Jeffrey and Christopher Huggins.
Each is a big talent with a knack for developing original, inventive movement. But in the works the two created for this occasion, they struggled with assembling the individual components into a clear, cohesive whole.
Jeffrey’s “Know Thyself” begins with a strong solo, strikingly performed by the superb Terrell Davis, but quickly loses focus in the ensemble sections, despite some memorable individual moments.
Joining scores of other choreographers inspired by Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero,” Huggins has created his distinctive take on the celebrated work, an athletic, extreme-energy work that never fully succeeds.
In placing the women behind hanging Plexiglas panels, he seems to deal in some way with the objectification of women, but the point of this socio-political conceit is never clear, and it just comes off as superfluous.
At the same time, the piece does not capture the music’s insistent, inexorable buildup, arguably the essential element of Ravel’s composition.
In many ways, solos were the story of the evening, starting with the one in “Know Thyself” and ending with another striking one at the beginning of the program’s final work, Parker’s “Spiritual Suite.”
In the middle of the first half is one of the best things on the program, Huggins’ “Essence,” a compelling solo work featuring guest artist Kayoko Amamiya.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
“Roots to Fame”
CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE ENSEMBLE|35th anniversary presentation, University of Denver, Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave.; 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday|$18-$38|303-357-2787 or ticketmaster.com
