Colorado Ballet Presents Fancy Footwork Featuring Three World Premieres Choreographed by Colorado Ballet Dancers
Performances Run May 1-3 at the Armstrong Center for Dance
All Proceeds Benefit the Next Step Fund, A Grant Program for Dancers Transitioning into New Careers
Denver, CO (August 9, 2026) – Colorado Ballet’s annual dancer-led production Fancy Footwork returns May 1-3 to the Armstrong Center for Dance. This year’s production features a mix of artist-favorite classical pieces alongside three world-premiere works choreographed by Colorado Ballet dancers. Each world premiere is brought to life with original costumes, music, and lighting design.
The program includes Reminiscence by Colorado Ballet Principal Jennifer Grace, The Broken Land Awakens by Colorado Ballet Soloist Jeremy Studinski and The Calm before the Storm by Colorado Ballet Soloist Kevin Gaël Thomas.
All proceeds benefit the Next Step Fund, a grant program designed to help Colorado Ballet company dancers transition into new careers beyond the stage. Guests attending the performances also will have the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind items and experiences in a silent auction featuring items donated by Artists of Colorado Ballet, community members, and other Scientific and Cultural Facilities District partners.
Limited space is available for press wishing to attend opening night on Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m. Contact Liza Lorenz at liza.lorenz@colorodoballet.org for availability.
“This is a truly unique model—both a production and a grant program—that empowers our dancers with confidence, agency, and pride as they take the next steps in their careers,” said Artistic Director Gil Boggs. “Fancy Footwork not only showcases their artistic voices in an intimate setting, but also provides real, tangible support for their futures beyond the stage.”
“Fancy Footwork remains one of Colorado Ballet’s most meaningful traditions,” said Executive Director Sameed Afghani. “This event offers dancers an invaluable opportunity to create, collaborate, and present work that is entirely their own, and our goal is to help make that experience as impactful as possible.”
The production is also supported by the Colorado Ballet Auxiliary, and event Co-Chairs Joe Lynott and Chris Bradley, through a silent auction and concessions at each performance. The purpose of the Auxiliary is to support all elements of Colorado Ballet through fundraising, audience development, education, and outreach.
About Reminiscence by Jennifer Grace
Set to “Clair de lune” by Claude Debussy, Reminiscence is a contemplative, nostalgic piece that celebrates the quiet peace of being fully present in a moment.
“I’ve always loved this piece of music and how versatile it is,” Jennifer Grace explained. “There are so many nuances to it depending on the arrangement, and which instruments are used. This particular version gave me a moment of peace in the middle of a chaotic day and made me think of the moments of quiet that are always there, somewhere in between, if only we stop and notice them.”
Jennifer began dancing at The Dance Center in Bozeman, Montana, at the age of 7. At 13, she moved to Moscow, Russia, to continue her training at The Bolshoi Ballet Academy. After finishing her schooling at Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy in Southern California, Jennifer was hired by Tulsa Ballet’s Second Company in 2013 and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in November of that same year following her performance as Tatiana in Christoper Wheeldon’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By 2017, she was a Soloist with the company and had performed many principal and soloist roles. In 2020 Jennifer joined Colorado Ballet and was promoted to Principal with the company in 2021 following her premiere as the title character in Giselle. She has had the opportunity to perform with Vail Dance Festival and Yellowstone International Arts Festival’s “Stars on the Yellowstone” and has also performed works by choreographers such as Christopher Wheeldon, Derek Deane, Ben Stevenson, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Wayne McGregor and Alejandro Cerrudo. Jennifer was Pointe Magazine's August/September 2018 Cover Star.
About The Broken Land Awakens by Jeremy Studinski
The Broken Land Awakens marks a major milestone in choreographer Jeremy Studinski’s artistic evolution—a work shaped by his transition from composing music to pursuing a deeper expressive language through movement. Developed in partnership with composers William Hill and Colin Hill, with whom Studinski has cultivated a dynamic creative relationship, the piece continues the momentum of their celebrated collaborations. Inspired by timeless philosophical themes, Broken Land explores a universal journey from division toward unity and integration. Studinski describes it as his most honest work to date—one that aims to stir introspection and awaken an inner desire for growth, evolution, and transformation.
This landmark production features the longest original work and largest team of local collaborators in Fancy Footwork history. Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer William Hill has donated an original 30‑minute commissioned score valued at $30,000 to support The Next Step Fund, and Colorado Ballet’s in‑house costume team is crafting all‑new designs for the piece.
Jeremy trained at the Colorado Conservatory of Dance before joining the studio companies of Colorado Ballet and Orlando Ballet. He danced with Orlando Ballet from 2015–2017, then returned to Colorado Ballet, rising to Soloist in 2025. His repertoire spans classical and contemporary roles performed nationally and internationally.
About The Calm before the Storm by Kevin Gaël Thomas
Set to “Dondante” by My Morning Jacket, The Calm before the Storm is an intense, visceral, and passionate duet inspired by the song’s haunting arc—from its melancholic opening to its electrifying final guitar solo.
Born and raised in France, choreographer and Colorado Ballet Soloist Kevin Gaël Thomas draws on a lifetime shaped by both music and movement. Kevin trained at the Rosella Hightower Dance Center while completing his studies at the French music conservatory before graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School in 2006. He began his professional career with Houston Ballet and has spent the past two decades with Colorado Ballet, where he rose to the rank of soloist and was featured as the Nutcracker Prince for Rocky Mountain PBS in 2023.
Kevin's choreographic voice emerged in 2016 with the founding of the Thomas Dance Project alongside his wife and collaborator, Sara Thomas, with whom he has toured to Las Vegas, France, and festivals across Colorado. Having participated in Fancy Footwork since its earliest days at Colorado Ballet’s former Lincoln Street studios, Kevin calls this annual return to creation “an opportunity I never miss.”
Performance Information
Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at coloradoballet.org or call Patron Services at (303) 339-1637 to purchase tickets.
To continue to reduce the number of ticket resellers, please purchase directly through Colorado Ballet via the website or phone number listed above. Tickets purchased through resellers may not be valid.
Colorado Ballet will present Fancy Footwork at The Armstrong Center for Dance (1075 Santa Fe, Denver, CO 80204).
Friday, May 1, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 2, 2026, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 3, 2026, 2:00 p.m.
About The Next Step Fund
The Next Step Fund seeks to assist Artists of Colorado Ballet with funding to pursue business and educational opportunities in careers outside of the performance stage. Primarily funded through the performance produced by Artists of Colorado Ballet, Fancy Footwork, the Next Step Fund is able to provide small grants to help these Artists make the leap towards a new profession. Colorado Ballet extends credit and gratitude to former Demi-Soloist Sean Omandam for his instrumental work in founding and creating the Next Step Fund and Fancy Footwork in 2011. Omandam decided to start the fund because he wanted dancers to feel empowered in their professional lives so that “the moment they take their final bow, they’re ready to take their next steps off the stage and into pursuing their passion of choice with some financial support."
Next Step Fund Testimonials
“The Next Step Fund was an invaluable resource during my transition from Colorado Ballet (CB) to graduate school. Transitions can be overwhelming and complex, especially when it comes to financial challenges. Having access to the Next Step Fund and the support from my colleagues at CB gave me the confidence to pursue my next career path. Since leaving CB, I’ve earned a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology, started a private practice, and am now in the final stages of completing my doctorate in Counseling Psychology. Funds like these offer invaluable support for dancers who wish to engage in career transitions requiring additional education or relocation.” – Arianna Shimits
“During my five years as a corps de ballet member at Colorado Ballet, I saw how Fancy Footwork creates opportunities for dancers beyond the stage. The Next Step Fund helped me cover a fall 2024 course at the University of Massachusetts, where I am pursuing a degree in Arts Management. That support kept me on track academically without needing to endure extra financial strain. Now, as I prepare to start my MBA this summer, I realize how much of an advantage this assistance has given me. Not having to cover that course cost has made graduate school a more manageable step. Programs like the Next Step Fund are essential in helping dancers transition into new careers while building on the skills developed throughout their performing careers.” - Alex Roy
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 offers programs to students and community members, making more than 25,000 contacts and reaching over 200 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.
