Colorado dance companies leap into the future

By Steve Graham

Everyone appreciates the Colorado Ballet. We look forward to the “Peter Pan” show opening this week, and its performance of “The Nutcracker,” a beloved holiday tradition. But many Coloradans don’t realize there is plenty of Centennial State ballet beyond the performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Here are five more ballet companies leaping into the future with innovative and high-quality shows.

Wonderbound

Garrett Ammon and Dawn Fay took over the former Ballet Nouveau Colorado in 2007. They revamped the company and transformed it into Wonderbound, which officially debuted in 2012. It has since been creating original works choreographed to live music by a diverse roster of Colorado’s favorite and most talented bands. The next show is “The Sandman: A Newfangled Western,” Feb. 14-23, set to new songs and old favorites by the Gasoline Lollipops. Also coming this year is “Divisions,” a collaboration with the Flobots that promises “high-octane athleticism, pulsing humanity, and raw power.”

Boulder Ballet

Boulder Ballet traces its roots to the 1970s, and although the company is based in Boulder, it performs across the Denver area, from Estes Park to Highlands Ranch. The company is perhaps best known for a free Ballet in the Park series during the summer.

The next Boulder Ballet production is “Modern Masters,” showcasing the choreography of two contemporary dance superstars. “Airs,” set to music by Handel, is the Front Range debut of a famed work by the late Paul Taylor. The other piece is Christopher Wheeldon’s “Five Movements, Three Repeats,” a juxtaposition of classical and modern dance. The show opens Friday, Feb. 21, in Boulder.

Lemon Sponge Cake

Boulder also has a ballet company with a silly name and a serious mission. Choreographer Robert Sher-Machherndl launched the company in 2002, and he still runs it, typically producing two new works per season and frequently addressing social issues such as immigration and gun violence.

The next production is an original one-man show by Sher-Machherndl called Seriously Solo. It premieres on Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Boulder JCC. On May 23, Lemon Sponge Cake will premiere “Juliet,” a three-person show that takes place inside a floating light cube created by award-winning architect Mike Moore.

The Connexus Dance Collective

Connexus is a contemporary dance program of the Colorado Ballet Society in Colorado Springs. The organization collaborates with a range of other arts groups in the Pikes Peak region, and is heavily focused on dance training and education, but performs in several productions during a season that runs from August through March.

Next, Connexus will work with the Colorado Youth Ballet and the National Honor Society for Dance Arts on a March modern dance show titled “Under the Canopy.”

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet

In 1996, Aspen’s own nationally renowned dance company started with just seven dancers. Then, in 2000, it forged a partnership in Santa Fe, New Mexico, bringing together artistic influences and patrons in both the desert Southwest and the Colorado mountains. The company develops new works and nurtures new choreographers.

The Aspen winter season continues with an encore performance of Nicolo Fonte’s “Beautiful Decay,” set to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” on Feb. 28 and 29. In March, the company hosts a performance by the gravity-defying Los Angeles dance company Diavolo, a recent Top 10 finalist on “America’s Got Talent.”