Colorado Ballet Celebrates Artistic Director Gil Boggs' 20th Anniversary
Boggs To Be Honored at The One Gala on April 16, 2026
DENVER, CO (March 17, 2026) – Colorado Ballet celebrates a major milestone: Artistic Director Gil Boggs’ 20th anniversary with the Company. Over the past two decades, Boggs has guided Colorado Ballet through remarkable artistic expansion and institutional development. His leadership and vision will be honored at The One Gala on April 16, 2026.
“Celebrating Gil Boggs’ 20th anniversary is celebrating two decades of extraordinary growth for Colorado Ballet,” said Executive Director Sameed Afghani. “His leadership has expanded our company, added a thriving studio company, and helped make the Armstrong Center for Dance—with its dedicated rehearsal, academy, and office spaces—a reality. He has broadened our repertoire, commissioned new works, and grown our annual audience to more than 100,000 people. This milestone honors his remarkable leadership and the impact it continues to have on our company and community.”
“Gil has combined an innate business sense and his exacting eye for artistic excellence with a dancer-focused perspective for wellness, repertoire, tradition and innovation that has been the secret sauce for Colorado Ballet’s growth and success for 20 years,” said Colorado Ballet Trustee Merry Logan. “His kindness and humbleness are remarkable in a leader of his stature. It’s an incredible feeling for me, as a board member of 22 years, when we are able to fund another of Gil’s goals for the company.”
“Gil’s quiet, tenacious leadership has led Colorado Ballet to new heights,” said Colorado Ballet Trustee Denise Sanderson. “Never losing faith during incredibly challenging times, he always found a way forward. Gil’s willingness to try new and innovative things has set our company apart and allowed its amazing growth.”
Gil Boggs’ Leadership
Over two decades of visionary leadership, Boggs has transformed Colorado Ballet into a thriving, nationally recognized company. Highlights of his accomplishments include:
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Expanding the company of professional dancers from 27 to 40 dancers
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Growing the Studio Company, a pre-professional training opportunity for dancers with the potential and desire to become professional dancers
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Opening the Armstrong Center for Dance, giving Colorado Ballet dedicated rehearsal, academy, and office spaces
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Broadening the ballet’s season by launching MasterWorks, the annual repertory program featuring a captivating trio of masterpieces that showcase the dancers’ artistic excellence and versatility
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Enriching the repertoire with new full‑length productions of Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Jekyll and Hyde, Lady of the Camellias, Casanova and The Great Gatsby
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Bringing 19 world premieres to the Ballet, including commissioning the full-lengthWizard of Oz in collaboration with Kansas City Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and championing emerging choreographers by commissioning works from Yoshihisa Arai and Lauren Lovette
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Introducing 21 Colorado Ballet premieres by world‑renowned choreographers like Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch and Anthony Tudor
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Growing the Ballet's annual audience to more than 100,000 people
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Increasing the annual budget from $6.2 million to $15.5 million
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Expanding the Ballet’s Education & Community Engagement Department, which provides high quality educational opportunities for preschool through adults; the department makes over 40,000 contacts each year with a variety of youth, families, teachers, and people with and without disabilities, reaching over 300 schools and organizations
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With Academy Director Erica Fischbach, increasing Academy enrollment, advancing training programs, and earning the Academy a strong reputation for excellence
About The One Gala
Held on April 16, 2026, at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, this year’s gala honors Artistic Director Gil Boggs for his 20-year anniversary with Colorado Ballet and celebrates his leadership, impact and continued vision.
The evening includes festive cocktails, a unique ballet-themed live auction, an elegant dinner, and a lively dance party to close out the celebration. A standout moment of the evening will be a live performance of George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco and an exclusive, one-night-only performance of Elégie by the Artists of Colorado Ballet, accompanied by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra.
For more information, visit https://coloradoballet.org/Gala.
About Gil Boggs
Gil Boggs began his dance career with the Atlanta Ballet. He joined American Ballet Theatre in New York in 1982 and was promoted to soloist dancer in 1984 and principal dancer in 1991. Boggs was a member of the company for 17 years. Boggs also performed with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, Baryshnikov and Company, Nureyev and Friends, and made several guest appearances around the world. During his career with ABT, he was recognized as both an accomplished virtuoso and one of the company’s most popular performers. Boggs has worked with numerous noted choreographers, including Agnes de Mille, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Paul Taylor, Mark Morris, Jerome Robbins, and Merce Cunningham and has an extensive performance repertoire of both classical and contemporary works.
Boggs accepted the position of Artistic Director with Colorado Ballet in the Spring of 2006. In Boggs’ tenure with Colorado Ballet, he has restaged full-length productions of Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote and Coppélia along with adding new full-length productions of Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Jekyll & Hyde, Lady of the Camellias, Casanova and The Great Gatsby. Boggs has also presented 19 world premieres including commissioning the full-length Wizard of Oz, and 32 Colorado Ballet premieres by such renowned choreographers as Twyla Tharp, Lar Lubovitch, Anthony Tudor, Michael Pink, Val Caniparoli, Dwight Rhoden, and Amy Seiwert.
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 65 years of excellence. As a world-class professional company serving more than 100,000 national and international patrons, Colorado Ballet presents 58 performances annually to sold-out audiences in the 2,000-seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The Company’s 40 professional dancers and 20 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 MasterWorks, featuring varied works from neoclassical ballets to world premieres. The Raydean Acevedo Colorado Ballet Academy serves more than 1,200 students from toddlers to seniors each year. Colorado Ballet’s Education & Community Engagement team offers programs to students and community members, making more than 40,000 contacts and reaching over 300 schools and organizations annually. Participants come from a variety of backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses including youth, families, teachers, and people with and without disabilities. For more information, please visit coloradoballet.org.
