Dance

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s bold vision – top global choreographers, distinctive revolutionary works, and virtuoso dancers – has fostered a jewel of a dance company in the American West. The company’s pioneering spirit arises from a dual set of home cities: Aspen, nestled in the Rocky Mountains, and Santa Fe, gracing the Southwestern plateau. Now nearly two decades old, the company has been shaping the cultural landscape of these communities and influencing the dance field at large. A European sensibility glossed with American ebullience forges ASFB’s aesthetic, as the company has come to epitomize the contemporary-classical genre.

River North Dance Chicago is celebrated for creating vibrant works that blend athletic prowess and artistic perspective with bold, theatrical flair. Under artistic direction of Frank Chaves, River North demonstrates depth and sophistication employing eclectic movement and demanding choreography. Boasting an eclectic, dynamic, jazz-based contemporary repertoire, internationally acclaimed River North conjures a powerful spectrum of human emotion.

Presenting choreographic works that examine human relationships, this extraordinary collection of world-class dancers articulates the perfect marriage between explosive hip-hop physicality and the subtle profoundness of contemporary story telling. A combination of the narrative, the spectacular, and the freedom of break dancing with the abstraction, nuances, and technique of contemporary dance results in a true hybrid of dance forms. Under the direction of distinguished dancer and choreographer Victor Quijada, Rubberbandance has soared to extraordinary levels. The Los Angeles native formulates a refined repertoire that amalgamates his early roots with his transplanted foundation.

Acclaimed Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-Min founded Cloud Gate 2 to foster new talent and showcase the next generation of Taiwanese dance. Dance Europe describes this innovative ensemble as, “a vibrant Company.” Cloud Gate II’s portfolio of work is celebrated around the world as some of the most innovative and creative contemporary dance to come out of Asia in decades. At the forefront of modern dance, Cloud Gate II dares to take beautiful risks that produce equally stunning outcomes.

Described by The Huffington Post as “a visually delicious beast that never comes short of dazzling the senses,” the award-winning Robert Moses’ Kin dance company from San Francisco performs their critically acclaimed work, Fable & Faith. Exploring imagination, creativity, identity and the current cultural climate through the metaphor of children’s fables, Fable & Faith features the exquisite San Francisco Boys Chorus under the direction of Ian Robertson, and award-winning playwright and actress Anne Galjour.  Also on the program is The Cinderella Principle,the company’s multi-media exploration into non-traditional family structures.  Don’t miss Robert Moses’ Kin, loved by audiences and called “masterful” by the San Francisco Chronicle and “intoxicating” by the Chicago Tribune.