[Ballet] Colorado Ballet: A Dance That Breaks the Boundaries Between Classical and Contemporary

(Denver = Wongeol Jeong) Colorado Ballet has successfully launched its 2025 season Masterworks.

Running from April 11 to 20 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, this year’s performance, as always, featured Colorado Ballet’s signature experimental stage.

Divided into three acts, the program opened with Serenade, showcasing many of the company’s rising dancers. Set to George Balanchine’s choreography and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48, the piece was brought to life by the dancers of Colorado Ballet.

Known as a work that abstracts pure movement and emotion, Serenade was filled with symbolic expressions of light and darkness, fate, and human relationships. A particularly memorable moment featured one dancer climbing onto the shoulders of others — a symbolic scene that left a lingering impression on the audience.

The following piece, Petite Mort, welcomed familiar faces from Colorado Ballet. Principals Jennifer Grace and Christophor Moulton graced the stage with their presence.

Choreographed by Czech-born Jiří Kylián, the piece featured the music of Mozart, blending the elegance of the classical era with the refined sensitivity of contemporary dance in a seamless harmony.

Without pause, the performance transitioned into In the Upper Room.

Known for its choreography that transcends the boundaries of classical and modern dance, this final act stood out not only for its movement but also for its lighting and costumes. The bright stage lighting evoked the radiance of the sun, while the striped costumes and striking red attire brought a fresh, contemporary flair.

The dancers, constantly in motion, resembled planets orbiting the sun — their repetitive and circular movements evoking the rhythm of human life and the natural world.

Colorado Ballet’s Masterworks continues through April 20 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.