Colorado Ballet Announces Cancellations and Updates to its 60th Anniversary Season
DENVER, CO (July 29, 2020) – Colorado Ballet announced today the cancellation of two productions in its 60th Anniversary Season, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. All 2020 performances of Colorado Ballet’s beloved production of The Nutcracker are canceled, along with the 2021 production of Ballet MasterWorks. Giselle, originally slated to take place in October, will replace Ballet MasterWorks, moving all performances out of 2020.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we must announce the cancellation of The Nutcracker this season, as well as Ballet MasterWorks in 2021, which will be replaced with our postponed season opening production of Giselle,” stated Colorado Ballet’s Artistic Director Gil Boggs. “The safety of our dancers, staff and audiences is our highest priority, and we want to ensure that everyone who experiences Colorado Ballet’s in-person performances in the future is able to do so safely. We have worked with all constituencies to evaluate every possible option. After many months of discussions and monitoring the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have unfortunately been forced to realize that we cannot safely conduct performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House for the remainder of 2020.”
“This is certainly not the way we hoped to open our 60th Anniversary Season,” stated Boggs. “The Nutcracker was our first production 60 years ago, so it’s very difficult for us to imagine a holiday season without it. We were looking forward to unveiling new sets and costumes for our 60th anniversary performance, but now hope to unveil them for The Nutcracker in 2021. We are extremely grateful to all our patrons and supporters for helping to build Colorado Ballet into the strong and vital organization it is today. We will get through these difficult times together, and we will be back.”
Previously scheduled for five productions at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Colorado Ballet’s 60th Anniversary season will now feature three productions: The Great Gatsby (February 5 –7, 2021), The Wizard of Oz (March 5 –14, 2021) and Giselle (April 9 –18, 2021).
Colorado Ballet’s 60th Anniversary season was originally scheduled to open October 9, 2020 with eight performances of Giselle and continue in November and December with 26 performances of The Nutcracker. Ticketing revenue from these two productions was projected to be between $3.5 and $4M.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Colorado Ballet will depend on fundraising as its primary source of income for the remainder of 2020. In light of this extreme need, Colorado Ballet announces the launch of its Relief and Recovery Fund. With a fundraising goal of $3 million, this fund will help to cover a significant portion of the loss of ticketed revenue, helping Colorado Ballet to retain its world-class dancers and staff and emerge from this crisis as the strong company it has become over the past 60 years.
“This difficult announcement does not denote a final curtain call, but rather a prolonged intermission. We remain committed to creating dance throughout this challenging time in any way possible. We believe that the arts are more important now than ever and will continue to fulfill our mission of presenting exceptional classical ballet and contemporary dance through performances, training, education and community engagement while inspiring and growing an increasingly diverse audience.” Gil Boggs, Artistic Director
Colorado Ballet invites all patrons to connect with Colorado Ballet online via their website and social media to stay up to date with all of the latest digital offerings and virtual programming that will be released over the upcoming months.
Colorado Ballet’s dancers returned to work this week, following their summer break, to begin class and rehearsals virtually through Zoom. They will be working on choreography for next year’s performances of Giselle. Additionally, Colorado Ballet’s staff and Academy teachers remain employed. The Raydean Acevedo Colorado Ballet Academy will offer virtual classes in the fall semester starting on August 17, 2020.
Ticketing Information
Single tickets for the three productions in Colorado Ballet’s 60th Anniversary Season will go on sale two months before each production opens. Single tickets for The Great Gatsby will go on sale December 1, 2020.
For more information, please visit coloradoballet.org and follow Colorado Ballet on Social Media for the latest updates.
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ABOUT COLORADO BALLET
Presenting exceptional classical ballet and innovative contemporary dance through performances, training, education and community engagement, Colorado Ballet continues to inspire and grow an increasingly diverse audience base in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1961 by Lillian Covillo and Freidann Parker, Colorado Ballet is a non-profit organization celebrating 60 years of excellence.As a world-class professional company, Colorado Ballet presents 55 performances annually to sold-out audiences in the 2,000 seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The Company’s 32 professional dancers and 21 studio company dancers come from all over the world. Colorado Ballet’s The Armstrong Center for Dance, a 35,000 square foot building, boasts eight state-of-the-art professional dance studios and amenities for the professional Company. Under the direction of Artistic Director Gil Boggs, Colorado Ballet performs classical ballet masterpieces, full-length story ballets and its critically-acclaimed repertory production Ballet MasterWorks, featuring varied works from neoclassical ballets to world premieres. The Raydean Acevedo Colorado Ballet Academy serves over 1,200 students from toddlers to seniors each year. Colorado Ballet’s Education and Community Engagement programming serves under-resourced students, teachers, families, people with disabilities and lifelong learners, reaching more than 35,000 contacts in 300 schools and organizations annually. For more information please visit COLORADOBALLET.ORG.
