Dance during the summer months typically means classes for kids and the occasional touring show, but the variety of Colorado offerings this year tinkers with the notion of hushed, big-box ballet and injects relaxed, contemporary energy and ethnic influences.
Here’s a look at the most interesting, unusual and accessible dance productions, festivals and seasonal reprises hitting the Front Range this summer.
Pricey
Vail International Dance Festival, various performances/locations, July 27-Aug. 11, $9-$85, 888-920-2787 or . The daddy of high-country dance festivals returns with more marquee names (Savion Glover, Wendy Whelan), UpClose performances (Miami City Ballet) and crowd-pleasers (Ballroom’s Best, Dancing in the Streets). Tickets range from the affordable “Dance for $20.09” package (starting at $9 for lawn seating on Aug. 4) to pricier single tickets and packages.
Moderate
International Youth Ballet, “Peter Pan,” Newman Center at the University of Denver, today, $21, 303-357-2787 or . Peter, Wendy, Hook and the rest are back in this high-flying production of the family classic, featuring professional guest artists and some of Colorado’s best young dancers.
Louder Than Words Dance- theatre, “Tensegrity,” Newman Center, June 12-20, $17-$22, 303-357-2787 or . What happens when you fuse modern and jazz dance with a stage aesthetic that allows sets, lighting and costumes to dictate the moves? The improbable, innovative “Tensegrity” takes cues from science to apply structural formality to choreography and lay bare the relationship between mechanics and movement.
En Fuego Latino, “Evolution,” Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder, June 19-21, $15-$20, 303-444-7328 or . True to the name, this Boulder company presents a 30-person theatrical show that follows the story of Latin dance from its folk roots to tango, salsa and the modern day.
Kim Robards Dance, “A Piece of the Puzzle,” KRD Dance Loft, June 20, $10-$15, 303-825-4847 or . KRD offers a preview of new works, including one for Edinburgh, Scotland’s, Fringe festival in August and another developed during KRD’s Summer Dance Intensive Company Project. The event also features artistic director Robards sharing her insights on the choreographic process.
Ballet Nouveau Colorado, “Rock Ballets,”Arvada Center, June 20, $10-$28, 720-898-7200 or . INXS, Queen and David Bowie may not sound like typical ballet material, but the pieces of this loosely integrated triptych share motifs and a common energy that position them closer to crowd-pleasing show-dancing than stodgy ballet.
Colorado College’s Extraordinary Dance Festival, “Gala Performance,”Armstrong Theater, Colorado College in Colorado Springs, July 11-12, $10-$20 877-894-8727 or . A three-week intensive program culminates in an array of performances from Martha Graham Company member Yuko Suzuki Giannakis, Intuit dance company, National Chu-Bei Senior High School dancers from Taiwan and more. The Young Artists concert follows on July 16 ($5).
Fiesta Colorado, “La Magia de Mexico,”Arvada Center, July 18, $1-$28, 720-898-7200 or . Hit the outdoor amphitheatre for this vibrant celebration of Mexican dance and music, featuring Fiesta Colorado’s Ballet Folklorico, director Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero and Juventino Romero and his lively Mariachi Sol de Mi Tierra.
Frequent Flyers Productions, 11th Annual Aerial Dance Festival,Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder, Aug. 7-9, prices TBA, 303-245-8272 or . This Boulder company presents its athletic aerial dance performances in the middle of its unique annual festival.
Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, “Liquid Space,” Chautauqua Summer Series, Aug. 8, $17-$36, 303-440-7666 or . Boulder gets its premiere of this work, which played New York’s Citigroup Theater in April and which will tour Europe next season. Robert Sher-Machherndl, Lemon Sponge Cake’s artistic director, and Rachel Viselli, former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer, are featured.
Free
Hannah Kahn Dance Company, mixed works,Hudson Gardens and Event Center in Littleton, June 15, 303-797-8565 or . This Denver company helps Hudson celebrate 13 years with an interactive kids-oriented show at 10 a.m. and a full-company performance at 2 p.m. with “Go,” “Passing Through,” “Jumble” and other works. Also catch Hannah Kahn at Denver’s Shwayder Theatre at the Jewish Community Center, Aug. 29-30, performing “Yonder” and other dances ($13-$18).
Boulder Ballet, Ballet in the Park 2009,various locations, June 14-28, free, 303-443-0028 or . This fifth-annual outdoor concert series skips between various parks in Boulder, Broomfield, Englewood and elsewhere with a family friendly repertoire of excerpts from the season and new works.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
