Aspen Ballet Company Premieres John Denver Tribute at Wheeler Opera House

Aspen —"Take Me Home," the original ballet commissioned by the Wheeler Opera House, is getting its first public preview this week in Aspen.

The piece will serve as the final segment of "Crescendo," a four-part show running Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. It is set to the music of John Denver, performed live with an onstage band. To hear them tell it, the work is a commemoration of the valley’s local music legacies.

DanceAspen, the company staging the event, announced that "Take Me Home" will anchor their upcoming winter season. For now, audiences get a preview of the seven-person troupe’s interpretation of the late folk icon’s catalog. The full piece is still in development, but the preview offers a look at how classical ballet and 1960s folk rock collide on the Wheeler’s stage.

The show is not just a John Denver tribute. "Crescendo" opens with the North American premiere of "A Boléro," a high-energy duet choreographed by Samantha Lynch, a principal dancer with the Norwegian National Ballet. The piece is set to Maurice Ravel’s 1928 score and marks the first time it has been performed outside of Oslo, Norway.

The Colorado Sun noted that the program moves from Ravel to a minimalist piece set to Dean Martin’s music, then onto a theatrical mix of excerpts by choreographer Cayetano Soto. The structure is eclectic by design, blending country, rock ’n’ roll, and 1920s experimental Spanish-inspired orchestra into a single evening.

Tickets start at $45 for the Aug. 27 and Aug. 28 performances at the Wheeler Opera House, located at 320 East Hyman Ave. in Aspen.

The question is whether a ballet set to "Take Me Home, Country Roads" feels like a natural fit for the genre. That depends on who you ask. For DanceAspen, it is a way to honor the music that defined the Roaring Fork Valley while pushing the form forward. The company is using the summer season to test these ideas before committing them to a full winter run.

While Aspen gets its ballet, the rest of the state has its own cultural fixtures this weekend. In Denver, the annual Dragon Boat Festival takes over Sloan’s Lake Park on Aug. 28 and 29. The event, which is free to attend, celebrates Colorado’s Asian communities with daily dragon boat races on the lake. It also features two "Taste of Asia" food courts, live artist demonstrations, and a kid-focused area called Dragonland. Performances are scheduled across three stages.

Over in Aurora, the Pride in the Park festival runs Aug. 29 at Winged Melody Park. This collaboration between Latino Pride and Aurora Pride brings together DJ sets, drag performances, ballet folklórico, and Aztec dancing. It is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Boulder is hosting the Tulagi Festival, formerly known as Boulder Roots, from Aug. 27 to 30. The festival packs Pearl Street and surrounding venues with more than 800 artists. Headliners perform at the Bandshell and Boulder Theater, while Street Wise artists create murals at One Boulder Plaza. The event includes a family-friendly Dino Disco at Mountain Sun, where kids 12 and under enter for free. Tickets are $154.

For those who prefer to stay in the mountains, the Aspen run offers a specific kind of cultural tourism. It is not just about seeing John Denver’s songs performed; it is about watching a contemporary dance company interpret those songs through movement, staging, and live instrumentation. The Wheeler Opera House provides the historic backdrop, but the choreography is modern.

The full "Take Me Home" piece will return for the winter season, but this weekend’s preview is the first chance to see how the company approaches Denver’s legacy. The math holds up for those looking for a unique cultural experience on the Western Slope: you get a world-class ballet company, a historic venue, and a musical score that is deeply rooted in local identity.

DanceAspen’s artistic director, speaking on the commission, described the work as a way to bridge the gap between the region’s musical history and its contemporary arts scene. "We wanted to honor the music that shaped this valley, but we didn’t want to do a retrospective," he said. "We wanted to move."

The preview is a test of that ambition. If the audience responds, the piece will expand into a full production next winter. For now, it is a glimpse of what might come, set to the sound of an acoustic guitar and a live band in the heart of Aspen.