Vail Dance Festival Pairs Colorado Ballet and Cleo Parker Robinson

Aspen —The air inside the Vilar Center hums with the specific, high-stakes quiet of anticipation. It is late August, and the mountain light is beginning to fail outside, but inside, the focus is entirely on the stage. For the neighbors who have driven up from Glenwood Springs or made the trek from Eagle County, this isn't just a cultural event; it is a celebration of Colorado’s 150th anniversary, and the program promises to bridge the gap between classical precision and raw, kinetic energy.

Colorado Dances is set to take the stage at the Vilar on August 9, headlining a special evening for the Vail Dance Festival. The lineup pairs two distinct entities: Colorado Ballet and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance company. This pairing creates a fascinating contrast, according to Gil Boggs, the artistic director of Colorado Ballet. Boggs notes that the eclectic vocabulary Cleo Parker Robinson developed over decades — combining sensuality, technicality, and athleticism — will blend surprisingly well with Colorado Ballet’s more classical approach.

The connection between these two companies and Vail runs deeper than a simple booking. Cleo Parker Robinson herself has a long history with the festival, dating back to the late 1980s. She recalls a specific moment in 1988, celebrating her 40th birthday at the festival. “They brought out the biggest round carrot cake that I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said. “They rolled it on stage for the entire audience.” Since then, her company has performed in Vail many times, even filming there.

This visit, however, is about more than nostalgia. It is about the new Center for the Healing Arts in Denver, a facility that recently opened its doors. The center extends the former historic space, adding multiple studios, a theater, and exhibition space for visual artists. But it also offers services ranging from acupuncture and chiropractic care to massage, all aimed at supporting mind-body-spirit alignment. Parker Robinson sees this as a necessary evolution for dancers who push their bodies to the limit.

“The dancers are always working on physical therapy almost every other day,” Parker Robinson said. “Because when you see the repertoire of Donald McKayle, Lil Buck and Winirfred Harris, you will know these bodies are pushed to the limit, and their minds are pushed to the limit because there’s so much material.”

The evening opens with a new piece, “Open Door,” by Lil Buck. Parker Robinson refers to him as a “brilliant” mind, and she commissioned the piece specifically to celebrate the new building. She describes his style as unique, rooted in his Memphis upbringing. “It looks easy. It looks like it’s natural, but if you don’t grow up in it, it’s a challenge,” she said. Despite having very little time with the company to rehearse, the connection was immediate. “He will be performing ‘The Open Door’ with us,” Parker Robinson added.

When the Denver studio closed for renovation, the dancers practiced at Colorado Ballet studios, and Colorado Ballet performed at the Cleo Parker Robinson facility. This shared space underscores the interdependence of the two companies. They are not just sharing a stage in Vail; they are sharing the grind of rehearsal, the exhaustion, and the bleeding feet that come with high-level performance.

Mario Labrador, Ever Larson, and Liam Hogan of the Colorado Ballet are among those performing in “S. Rachmaninoff” by Yoshihisa Arai. The visual of these dancers, captured in courtesy photos, shows a level of intensity that matches the description of their preparation. They are not just moving; they are balancing the physical toll of the repertoire with the mental demand of the material.

The Vilar, nestled in the heart of the valley, has hosted this festival for decades. It is a place where locals come to see the world’s best, but also to see their own state’s talent. The performance is a reminder of how far the region’s arts scene has come. From the carrot cake of 1988 to the healing-focused studios of today, the festival has evolved. It is no longer just about watching dancers; it is about understanding the cost of their art.

The audience will sit in the dark, watching the lights hit the stage. They will see the classical lines of the ballet and the grounded, rhythmic energy of the contemporary company. They will see the result of years of practice, of bleeding feet and exhausted minds. And they will see, for one night, the convergence of two different visions of what it means to be a dancer in Colorado.