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THE POLITICS OF DANCING
An Evening with Cleo Parker Robinson
A JOINT WPO-YPO EVENT
November 13, 2008
NOTE 5:30 PM Start Time
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
119 Park Avenue West
Denver, CO 80205
YPO Members & Spouse/Guest
WPO Full Access Members
Business - Business Casual
Kevin & Diana Fallon
Sally & David Armitage
2
Cleo Parker Robinson is truly a unique American treasure and is better known in the national and international world of dance than she is here in her hometown of Denver. The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble is widely regarded as one of the top modern dance companies in the United States, especially notable for a company far from the dance profession's traditional coastal centers. Cleo Parker Robinson, named to the National Council on the Arts by President Bill Clinton in 1999, has spearheaded innovative and widely praised outreach programs designed to bring dance to at-risk inner city youth and to involve people of all backgrounds in dance.
It is amazing to think that in 1970, as a very young, African-American woman, she started a business in the arts here in Denver (much less a cultural center then than now). Her entrepreneurial business has survived 38 years and has grown to not only be a world renowned dance ensemble, but a dance school that serves dancers from ages 3 to 93, an International Summer Dance Institute – One Spirit, Many Voices – that is celebrating its 14th year, Seasons of School Healing Power of Dance, and AYE – a 26-week cultural enrichment/academic collaborative program between CPRD and the Math Literacy Project. Her success and broad reach is a tribute to her charisma, leadership and determination.
Cleo has served people of all ages, races, faiths and income brackets spanning four decades of devotion not only to dance, but also to the broader community in which she lives. She is a native of Denver and a graduate of the University of Denver (formerly the Colorado Women’s College) in the fields of Dance, Education and Psychology. She began teaching college level dance at the age of fifteen at the University of Colorado.
She has trained with Alvin Ailey, collaborated with Dr. Maya Angelou, commissioned work from the top choreographers, been invited to bring her dance company to five of the seven continents, and has been featured in several documentaries. She has won countless awards and honors.
We will have the opportunity to hear from Cleo about how she started, grew, overcame obstacles and survived. We will also get to see a brief performance by her Ensemble.
