Cleo Parker Robinson’s entire career as a dance instructor can be compared to a tree, with roots deeply embedded into the Boulder community and branches that touch the lives of hundreds of dancers over the years. As the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble prepares to celebrate its 45th anniversary, Parker Robinson chuckles as she reflects on the “seeds” she planted early in Boulder and nourished over the years.
“My history is in Boulder, and when we perform here I just think, ‘Oh my God, I really feel like I’m home,’ because there’s just a spirit here,” Parker Robinson says. “When you can sustain a company this long in this region, there’s a lot of grace you’ve been given. These things don’t happen in every community, but we’re not one of those wonderful companies that had to fold so early.”
Parker Robinson’s career spans back to the late 1960s, when she was appointed the first director of the Black dance program at the University of Colorado. She laughs as she remembers “stealing” dancers who were pursuing non-dance related degrees at the college.
“Most of the young men [in the Cleo Parker Robinson ensemble] came out of CU, and most people don’t know that,” Parker Robinson says. “Curtis Fraser was quite the scholar, but I took him out of the engineering department and made him a dancer. He ended up staying with me for 19 years and we went all over the world together.”
In 1970, dancer-turned-teacher-turned-choreographer Parker Robinson founded her ensemble, a company whose work is largely based on the African American experience.
“I think we were one of the first to develop a modern dance company with such a high quality of dance repertoire and sense of culture,” Parker Robinson says. “Much of our success comes from always being connected to so many beautiful artists.”
She says that she and her dancers share a strong bond with the Boulder community, adding that the audience is “ready for that experience” when they buy a ticket to her productions.
“Boulder is a dance community,” Parker Robinson says. “Everybody wants to dance, and we actually give them the opportunity to dance.”
Parker Robinson’s dance career has been influenced by more than a handful of choreographers and students, and on Sept. 12, she will relive her experiences at Chautauqua Auditorium with her production, Passages. The choreographer calls Passages a “very important moment” in the ensemble’s history, and she says she plans on featuring excerpts from her earlier choreographed productions, including pieces she first created while at CU.
“We have done so many works in the last 45 years, and it’s been a challenge deciding which ones to perform at Chautauqua, which ones truly tell our story,” Parker Robinson says. “I like to premiere new work and bring in the older ones because those are fan favorites. Some of my pieces like ‘Rain Dance’ become classics, and I like to think of my older pieces as good home cooking, just things that bring you back to your roots.”
In all of her years of teaching, Parker Robinson has never considered leaving Boulder. While she’s traveled the world with her ensemble and still continues to do so, she says her experience in the Boulder area, particularly Chautauqua, never changes.
“It’s wonderful that a venue like Chautauqua has existed for as long as it has,” she says, adding that she “gets tickled” when she looks out into the crowd to see familiar faces after all these years. “It’s wonderful to stand on this rock and revel in the beauty of everyone coming together. When I come to do a concert at Chautauqua, I share with the audience that there’s nothing like that Rocky Mountain soul, and that’s what we’ve got.”
As Parker Robinson prepares for the debut of Passages at Chautauqua, she reflects back on the first performance she saw at the auditorium and the first time she “felt the life force” of that atmosphere.
“The first choreographer I ever saw at Chautauqua was Merce Cunningham, and I remember thinking that it was just so strange, because really it’s incredible to be in that kind of environment,” Parker Robinson says. “I also remember working with a group of dancers that were used to seeing Mount Kilimanjaro every day, and when I brought them to Chautauqua, to our mountains, they just kept saying, ‘The sky’s the limit!’ Well you know, I think that’s what’s so beautiful about Chautauqua, you’re closer and just keep getting closer to something that’s higher.”
Passages, she says, will allow everyone to look back at the ensemble’s history while looking forward to their future and the legacy they are leaving behind. Her ensemble is currently working with artists in Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Kenya, and for the first time they are broadcasting their classes and concerts via satellite around the world. She says that she and her dancers will continue motivating and innovating in the world of dance while they decide where they will go next.
“We have access to the world in such a better way today,” Parker Robinson says. “It’s easier to be global, and as a result of that we can have a greater impact on the influence we have on the rest of the world.”
ON THE BILL: Passages with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder, 303-442-3282. Tickets $35 or $32 for concert members, at chautauqua.com.
