David Taylor Dance Theatre
Guest Artist
David Taylor Dance Theatre, Guest Artist
The David Taylor Dance Theatre was founded by choreographer David Taylor in 1979 and remains Colorado's only professional contemporary ballet company. Mr. Taylor's background and fascination with the metaphysical and ritualistic aspects of dance has created a stunning and thought-provoking identity for the 12-member Denver-based troupe. Critics have lauded the Company as being "polished and emotional: and as "the most ambitious troupe in town".
In 1989 the Colorado Council for the Arts and Humanities cited the DTDT for being "the number one dance organization in the state in terms of achieving success in its artistic mission." In 1994, Music and Dance Critic Glenn Giffin of the Denver Post stated that "the DTDT has always been the most provocative of the area's dance companies, tackling themes, subjects and music that no one else touches. It still does." In March of 1997, Artistic Director David Taylor and his company were a recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
In 1999, the DTDT's new company, culled from national auditions, presented their second annual "Contemporary Classic' program at Loretto Heights in Denver. Marc Shulgold, Music and Dance Critic from Denver's Rocky Mountain News said, "The Teikyo Loretto Heights stage was filled with powerful performers, exquisite of line, drilled to near-perfection and quite comfortable with even the most extraordinarily demanding piece. Simply put, you have to see the new Taylor company to believe it."
In 2006, James Wallace, former dancer and choreographer in residence with DTDT, took over as Artistic Director. Mr. Wallace had just returned from dancing with Company C Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco and was ready for a change of pace. His exciting and innovative vision matches that of David Taylor and yet brings a freshness to the company. David Taylor has said the company has never looked sharper and the repertoire is brilliantly put together. Mr. Wallace has been lauded as a "daring and original dancemaker" (Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News) and his choreography has been described as "vibrant, innovative and richly diverse".. one of the brightest new choreographers on the horizon." (Glenn Giffen, The Denver Post) He has also created works for the Colorado Ballet, American National Ballet, Boulder Ballet and Ballet Nouveau. The Ballet Builders award for new choreography was given to Mr. Wallace by New Choreographers on Point and his piece, Suspect Lines, was given a New York City premiere. Mr. Wallace's dynamic vision is taking the company in an incredible direction and upcoming performances are not to be missed.
The Company has been presented and sponsored by such major Denver metropolitan entities as the Arvada Center, the Littleton Town Hall and Aurora Fox Arts Centers, The City and County of Denver, Norwest, Coors, the Denver Ballet Guild, the ArtReach Festival of Trees, the Rose Foundation, the Museum of Outdoor Arts, the University of Denver, KVOD Radio, the Colorado Performing Arts Festival, and First Night Colorado. In addition, the DTDT has performed through invitation at the Telluride and Colorado Dance Festivals, at the Colorado Choreographer's Showcase, at the Golden, Lakewood, Douglas County and Cherry Creek Arts Festivals, at the Norwest Culture Fest, by Foothills Parks and Recreation District, the Norwest Arts on Stage summer productions, and at the Sacred Dance Guild's 30th Anniversary National Convention held in Denver in 1988.
The DTDT has been presented on tour in Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Steamboat Springs, Vail, Estes Park, Gunnison, Pueblo, Boulder, Sheridan, Crested Butte, Battlement Mesa, Trinidad, Walsenburg, Canon City, La Junta, Beulah, Lake City, Ouray, Ridgeway, Montrose, Holyoke, Yuma, Fort Morgan, Brush, Colorado Springs, Sterling, at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, at the Vilar Center in Avon, and Fort Collins, and through the Rural Artist Series project in Wray, Wiggins, Leadville, San Luis, Nederland, and Creede. Out of state bookings have included Cheyenne, Sheridan, Gillette, Rock Springs, Powell, Riverton, Cody, Rawlins, and Casper, Wyoming; Billings, and Great Falls, Montana; Aberdeen, Vermillion and Sioux City, South Dakota; Boise and Moscow, Idaho; Price and Cedar City, Utah; Lexington and Kearney, Nebraska; Fish Creek and Baraboo, Wisconsin; Alamogordo, Gallup, Taos, Socorro, Silver City, and Farmington, New Mexico; Phoenix and Safford, Arizona; Houston, Corpus Christi, Del Rio, San Antonio, and El Paso, Texas; Lake Charles, Monroe, and Lafayette, Louisiana; McLean, Virginia; Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; Dubuque, Iowa; Long Beach and Costa Mesa, California; Oklahoma City and Tishomingo, Oklahoma; and Bemidji, Minnesota. Musical collaborations have included performances with Opera Colorado, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Colorado Wind Ensemble, the Premiat Trio, the Lamont School of Music, the Wyoming Symphony, the Billings Symphony, the Fort Collins Symphony, the Colorado Wind Ensemble, the Up Close and Musical Ensemble and the Denver Balinese Gamelan Orchestra.
In May of 1987, the DTDT became the first local dance company ever to be presented by the City and County of Denver under their groundbreaking 'Denver Presents' Series at the Auditorium Theatre. Artistic Director and choreographer David Taylor became the first dance recipient of the Mayor's Individual Artist Fellowship award for the creation of "Anasazi Dream" within the context of this project, which received national attention in Dance Magazine. In 1989, the DTDT presented the innovative "Bali Agung" production in the unique indoor-outdoor setting of the MCI Plaza. Co-sponsored by the Museum of Outdoor Arts, the collaborative project involved the David Taylor Dance Theatre, visual artist George Peters, and composer Mark McCoin in an exploration of Balinese culture that noted Denver theatre producer Henry Lowenstein called "one of the best theatrical events I've seen in years".
In 1991, Rocky Mountain News Music and Dance critic Marc Shulgold lauded the company's strikingly original new production of "The Nutcracker" as the Critic's Choice for holiday entertainment, saying "Taylor's bright, bold Nutcracker (was) a treat for the eyes".
The David Taylor Dance Theatre was also accepted onto the prestigious Western States Arts Foundation Tour Guide roster for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 Seasons and was selected to be a Showcase performing company at the 1994 Western Alliance of Arts Administrators (WAAA) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona in September 1994, at the Pacific Northwest Booking Conference in Boise, Idaho in January of 1995, and at the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association's Festinvention in Greeley and Price, Utah in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
The David Taylor Dance Theatre was founded by choreographer David Taylor in 1979 and remains Colorado's only professional contemporary ballet company. Mr. Taylor's background and fascination with the metaphysical and ritualistic aspects of dance has created a stunning and thought-provoking identity for the 12-member Denver-based troupe. Critics have lauded the Company as being "polished and emotional: and as "the most ambitious troupe in town".
In 1989 the Colorado Council for the Arts and Humanities cited the DTDT for being "the number one dance organization in the state in terms of achieving success in its artistic mission." In 1994, Music and Dance Critic Glenn Giffin of the Denver Post stated that "the DTDT has always been the most provocative of the area's dance companies, tackling themes, subjects and music that no one else touches. It still does." In March of 1997, Artistic Director David Taylor and his company were a recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
In 1999, the DTDT's new company, culled from national auditions, presented their second annual "Contemporary Classic' program at Loretto Heights in Denver. Marc Shulgold, Music and Dance Critic from Denver's Rocky Mountain News said, "The Teikyo Loretto Heights stage was filled with powerful performers, exquisite of line, drilled to near-perfection and quite comfortable with even the most extraordinarily demanding piece. Simply put, you have to see the new Taylor company to believe it."
In 2006, James Wallace, former dancer and choreographer in residence with DTDT, took over as Artistic Director. Mr. Wallace had just returned from dancing with Company C Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco and was ready for a change of pace. His exciting and innovative vision matches that of David Taylor and yet brings a freshness to the company. David Taylor has said the company has never looked sharper and the repertoire is brilliantly put together. Mr. Wallace has been lauded as a "daring and original dancemaker" (Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News) and his choreography has been described as "vibrant, innovative and richly diverse".. one of the brightest new choreographers on the horizon." (Glenn Giffen, The Denver Post) He has also created works for the Colorado Ballet, American National Ballet, Boulder Ballet and Ballet Nouveau. The Ballet Builders award for new choreography was given to Mr. Wallace by New Choreographers on Point and his piece, Suspect Lines, was given a New York City premiere. Mr. Wallace's dynamic vision is taking the company in an incredible direction and upcoming performances are not to be missed.
The Company has been presented and sponsored by such major Denver metropolitan entities as the Arvada Center, the Littleton Town Hall and Aurora Fox Arts Centers, The City and County of Denver, Norwest, Coors, the Denver Ballet Guild, the ArtReach Festival of Trees, the Rose Foundation, the Museum of Outdoor Arts, the University of Denver, KVOD Radio, the Colorado Performing Arts Festival, and First Night Colorado. In addition, the DTDT has performed through invitation at the Telluride and Colorado Dance Festivals, at the Colorado Choreographer's Showcase, at the Golden, Lakewood, Douglas County and Cherry Creek Arts Festivals, at the Norwest Culture Fest, by Foothills Parks and Recreation District, the Norwest Arts on Stage summer productions, and at the Sacred Dance Guild's 30th Anniversary National Convention held in Denver in 1988.
The DTDT has been presented on tour in Colorado in Glenwood Springs, Steamboat Springs, Vail, Estes Park, Gunnison, Pueblo, Boulder, Sheridan, Crested Butte, Battlement Mesa, Trinidad, Walsenburg, Canon City, La Junta, Beulah, Lake City, Ouray, Ridgeway, Montrose, Holyoke, Yuma, Fort Morgan, Brush, Colorado Springs, Sterling, at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, at the Vilar Center in Avon, and Fort Collins, and through the Rural Artist Series project in Wray, Wiggins, Leadville, San Luis, Nederland, and Creede. Out of state bookings have included Cheyenne, Sheridan, Gillette, Rock Springs, Powell, Riverton, Cody, Rawlins, and Casper, Wyoming; Billings, and Great Falls, Montana; Aberdeen, Vermillion and Sioux City, South Dakota; Boise and Moscow, Idaho; Price and Cedar City, Utah; Lexington and Kearney, Nebraska; Fish Creek and Baraboo, Wisconsin; Alamogordo, Gallup, Taos, Socorro, Silver City, and Farmington, New Mexico; Phoenix and Safford, Arizona; Houston, Corpus Christi, Del Rio, San Antonio, and El Paso, Texas; Lake Charles, Monroe, and Lafayette, Louisiana; McLean, Virginia; Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; Dubuque, Iowa; Long Beach and Costa Mesa, California; Oklahoma City and Tishomingo, Oklahoma; and Bemidji, Minnesota. Musical collaborations have included performances with Opera Colorado, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Denver Chamber Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Colorado Wind Ensemble, the Premiat Trio, the Lamont School of Music, the Wyoming Symphony, the Billings Symphony, the Fort Collins Symphony, the Colorado Wind Ensemble, the Up Close and Musical Ensemble and the Denver Balinese Gamelan Orchestra.
In May of 1987, the DTDT became the first local dance company ever to be presented by the City and County of Denver under their groundbreaking 'Denver Presents' Series at the Auditorium Theatre. Artistic Director and choreographer David Taylor became the first dance recipient of the Mayor's Individual Artist Fellowship award for the creation of "Anasazi Dream" within the context of this project, which received national attention in Dance Magazine. In 1989, the DTDT presented the innovative "Bali Agung" production in the unique indoor-outdoor setting of the MCI Plaza. Co-sponsored by the Museum of Outdoor Arts, the collaborative project involved the David Taylor Dance Theatre, visual artist George Peters, and composer Mark McCoin in an exploration of Balinese culture that noted Denver theatre producer Henry Lowenstein called "one of the best theatrical events I've seen in years".
In 1991, Rocky Mountain News Music and Dance critic Marc Shulgold lauded the company's strikingly original new production of "The Nutcracker" as the Critic's Choice for holiday entertainment, saying "Taylor's bright, bold Nutcracker (was) a treat for the eyes".
The David Taylor Dance Theatre was also accepted onto the prestigious Western States Arts Foundation Tour Guide roster for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 Seasons and was selected to be a Showcase performing company at the 1994 Western Alliance of Arts Administrators (WAAA) Conference in Phoenix, Arizona in September 1994, at the Pacific Northwest Booking Conference in Boise, Idaho in January of 1995, and at the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association's Festinvention in Greeley and Price, Utah in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
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