A windmill-tilting hero, a pair of scheming lovers and some of the funniest dancing you’ll see all season.

It’s not often that audiences laugh out loud (in a good way) during a professional ballet performance.

On Friday, October 2, at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Colorado Ballet held the opening night of Don Quixote, a classical ballet based on Miguel de Cervantes’ 1605 novel. As Ludwig Minkus’ joyful music rings out, the red curtains rise to reveal a scrim featuring a beautiful fan design depicting bullfighters and Spanish life. Don Quixote and his mysterious perfect woman are lit from behind the screen, beginning the whimsical tale.

Don Quixote follows Don Quixote (Carlos Molina) and his trusty sidekick Sancho Panza (Bryce Lee) on a quest to find Dulcinea (Lila Page), the woman he envisions in his dreams. In Seville, Kitri (Leah McFadden) and Basilio (Jonnathan Ramirez) fall in love, but their union is forbidden. Kitri’s father Lorenzo (Joshua Allenback) betrothes her to nobleman Gamache (Gregory K. Gonzales). Don Quixote is also enthralled by Kitri and thinks she may be his lovely Dulcinea. (*Note: Casting varies by performance. Check the Colorado Ballet website for the cast on your date.)

Kitri and Basilio sneak away to a Romani camp with the others in tow. In confusion, Don Quixote attacks a windmill and dreams again of Dulcinea. Upon awakening, Don Quixote vows to help the lovers and misguide Lorenzo and Gamache. In a dramatic turn of events, Basilio pretends to stab himself, and Lorenzo unites Kitri with him as his dying wish. Basilio jumps up, alerting Lorenzo to the trickery, and the lovers marry. The program lays out the entire storyline, so patrons can focus on the artistry of its unfolding.

Chloe Kinzler in ‘Don Quixote.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

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Beautiful costuming and sets

Santo Loquasto’s brilliant costuming and set design bring the playful town of Seville and the moody Romani camp to life. Dancers move through a lively town square with ancient columns, towering trees, baskets of colorful flowers and a palace off in the distance.

The ballerinas wear tiered skirts that swish beautifully as they dance. Kitri dons a coral dress with lace trim and dramatically bats a fan at Basilio as a flirting tactic. Basilio wears an intricate vest over a flowing white tunic and red tights emphasizing his muscles. Don Quixote looks like a crazy old man with a patchy gray wig with long tufts of curls and once-stately but now torn garments.

With moonlit lighting by Todd Elmer, the Romani camp becomes a romantic safe haven for the lovers. Kitri wears an ocean blue tiered dress that matches the intimacy of the moment. The windmill looms in the background like a huge tree or the monster Don Quixote suspects it might be.

Jessica Payne and Carlos Molina in ‘Don Quixote.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

Joyful dancing mixed with impressive comedy

Minkus’ score is vibrant and infused with an energetic zest for life. With choreography by Marius Petipa, the ensemble engages in joyful Spanish folk dance with powerful leaps and turns. In Seville, their dances are lively and playful. When they dance in Don Quixote’s dream sequence, the choreography favors stunning lines and delicate movements like the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” in The Nutcracker. The most impressive moments are when the women glide as one body and grand jeté with barely any sound. The movements that appear the most fluid and graceful are often the most difficult.

There isn’t much dancing where Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are concerned. They’re the bumbling idiots adding comedic relief to the dramatic love story — though Ramirez’s Basilio and McFadden’s Kitri make audiences laugh all on their own. Basilio first approaches Kitri with the age-old man-with-a-guitar move. She initially brushes him off, but their playful, synchronized duet helps them fall for each other. As they grow closer, the pair moves from elegant, slow lifts into rapid, controlled dancing. The sequence quickly moves from impressive dancing, like Kitri’s partnered pirouette into an attitude, to the duo trying to make each other jealous. Kitri dances with another man, so Basilio kisses a different girl’s neck.

The couple truly fall for each other by the time they reach the Romani camp. Basilio tenderly lifts and dips Kitri. In a brief shift from the romance, Don Quixote attempts to conquer the windmill. In the battle, a dummy version of him moves up the windmill and falls off.

Then, Basilio and Kitri have their final Hail Mary of being together where Basilio waggles his eyebrow at the audience before hilariously pretending to stab himself as the whole town averts their eyes. Kitri catches on to his deception and mimics weeping over him before they both jump up with huge grins, satisfied with their performance.

In Basilio and Kitri’s final pas de deux, Kitri demonstrates incredible balance and endurance in her pirouettes into held arabesques and sequence of 32 fouettés. She hits every mark with precision throughout her incredibly demanding performance.

Colorado Ballet’s Don Quixote is a star-crossed love story with the tragedy removed: silly character work, stunning dancing and a happily ever after.