Colorado Ballet

Colorado Ballet is a professional dance company presenting classical ballet and contemporary works primarily at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, with one annual production at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver. The company also operates a Black Box Theater at its home facility, the Armstrong Center for Dance.

Founded in 1961 as Colorado Concert Ballet by Lillian Covillo and Freidann Parker, the company achieved full professional status in 1976 and changed its name to Colorado Ballet in 1978. The organization encompasses a 40-member professional company, a studio company for advanced students, an academy with approximately 1,500 students, and education and outreach programs serving more than 35,000 contacts annually.

Colorado Ballet purchased the 30,000 square-foot Armstrong Center for Dance in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe in 2013 and moved into the renovated facility in August 2014. The center features eight state-of-the-art professional dance studios, physical therapy facilities, student and parent lounges, and a retail boutique. The building’s Black Box Theater seats 135 for performances and up to 177 for lecture-style events, hosting the company’s experimental choreography showcases and academy student performances.

The professional company performs five mainstage productions annually at the 2,100-seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House, accompanied by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra. The company serves more than 125,000 patrons each year with an annual operating budget exceeding $14.8 million, employing over 150 people full-time or part-time. Colorado Ballet received the 2009 Colorado Masterpieces Award and has performed at the Vail International Dance Festival.

Education and community engagement programs include Leap N Learn after-school residencies, Rhythm and Grace for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, and Be Beautiful Be Yourself for children with Down syndrome. Academy students perform in professional company productions including the annual Nutcracker.