DanceAspen Premieres Ravel Duet at Wheeler Opera House

Aspen —The air inside the Wheeler Opera House hangs thick with anticipation, a palpable energy that crackles just before the lights dim. It is August 27, 2026, and the stage is set for something more than a performance; it is a declaration. DanceAspen, a company born from the grassroots soil of the Roaring Fork Valley in 2021, steps into its fifth year not as a settled institution, but as a force in motion. Their summer headline, Crescendo, does not merely entertain; it interrogates the very nature of contemporary dance, asking us to look closely at how movement and music collide, separate, and finally merge.

The evening opens with a visual shock: a nearly ten-foot-tall box, its rigid geometry stark against the softness of the human form. This is the setting for the North American premiere of Samantha Lynch’s A Boléro, set to Maurice Ravel’s iconic score. If you’ve seen the film Black Swan or read the novels of Donna Tartt, you know the power of a confined space. Here, the box is not a prison but a prism. Two dancers enter, and what follows is a duet that defies the rigidity of their container. They move with a precision that borders on the mechanical, yet there is a warmth to their connection that feels organic. As Ravel’s rhythm builds, the lighting shifts, transforming the imposing structure into a kaleidoscope of shadow and light. The intensity is found not in explosive gestures, but in repetition and restraint. It is a masterclass in building tension through subtle shifts in weight and breath.

Act II brings a shift in tone with Cayetano Soto’s SAVORY BITES’ abundance. This world-premiere compilation weaves together excerpts from three of Soto’s existing works — Malasangre, Beginning After, and Fugaz — each carrying a distinct atmospheric signature. In Malasangre, the costuming becomes an active participant in the choreography. Skirts flow and extend the lines of the body, adding a sweeping fluidity to the turns. The movement is supported by the fabric, creating a sense of grace that feels almost weightless.

Beginning After takes a different approach, creating a complex relationship between the dancers and the score. The bodies do not simply move to the music; they move within it. The performers slip around and between the rhythms, playing with syncopation in a way that feels both intellectual and visceral. It is a piece that rewards close listening, where the interplay between sound and motion reveals new layers of meaning with each viewing.

The act concludes with Alejandro Cerrudo’s PACOPEPEPLUTO, a work that injects a dose of wit into the evening. Three male artists perform solos to the velvet-smooth standards of Dean Martin. Described by one observer as "cheeky," the piece lives up to its reputation. With minimal costuming and playful movement, the performers embody a sense of swagger that emerges from their individual personalities. Paired with Martin’s crooning, the work feels like a celebration of joy and self-expression, a reminder that dance can be as much about fun as it is about form.

But the night does not end with the final note of PACOPEPEPLUTO. DanceAspen closes the evening by looking forward. They present a preview of an upcoming show, Take Me Home, a work in progress. This John Denver-inspired commission from the Wheeler Opera House is co-choreographed by a team that promises to blend nostalgia with innovation. The preview is brief, a glimpse into a future that is still taking shape. It leaves the audience with a sense of curiosity, wondering how the pieces will fit together when the full work is realized.

As the house lights rise, the audience files out into the cool Aspen night. The streets are quiet, the mountains looming in the distance. But the energy of the performance lingers, a resonance that hums in the bones. You can feel it in the way the air tastes different, charged with the electricity of shared experience. DanceAspen has proven that a young company can carry the weight of tradition while pushing the boundaries of the possible. They are not just dancing; they are mapping the territory of what comes next. And in a valley that has always moved with the seasons, that is a promise worth keeping. The final image is not of the dancers, but of the empty stage, bathed in the afterglow of the performance, waiting for the next beginning.