Contemporary ballet company remains on its toes

By Steve Graham

In between acclaimed shows, the dancers and choreographers of Wonderbound typically travel to about 40 metro-area schools for performances and lessons each spring.

With all those schools closed this spring, the Denver contemporary ballet company instead put their content online for students of all ages and all locations. The company is compiling 122 new short videos — the Dance Along! series of instructional videos, and the Project Wonder series of new dances — all filmed in the dancers’ homes and in socially distant outdoor spaces.

“We thought this was the most impactful and meaningful way we could engage our mission right now,” said Wonderbound choreographer and artistic director Garrett Ammon.

Without regular rehearsals in studio, the dancers still have to rehearse and work out, so these videos provide a useful creative outlet for them.

“The artists have to engage their work in a different way,” Ammon said. “They have to try to keep themselves in shape in their kitchens.”

Wonderbound President Dawn Fay said the dancers have a lot of freedom to choreograph within broad parameters, such as a letter and a number of words for each video in the alphabet series. For example, for the “Words Beginning with M” video, Morgan Sicklick and Damien Patterson list fun facts and demonstrate dance moves relating to magpies, moose and six other “m” words. Then they string the moves together and set them to music by the Tivoli Club Brass Band.

Ammon added that the videos are a great way for the dancers to demonstrate their personalities, and he is even learning more about the personalities of dancers he works with every day.

“This is giving us new insight into them as individuals,” he said.

Schools all over Colorado and the nation have been using the lessons and performances on Google Classroom and other remote learning platforms. Fay said teachers are “over the moon” about the videos, and many instructors are even hosting dance discussions at the end of each week.

“Overall, they have the power to transport, transcend, uplift and enable,” she said.

Many homeschooling parents are also using the videos for physical education and fun breaks. Jerica Ritchie, a mother of three in Fort Collins, particularly enjoyed the alphabet series.

“Great for everyone in the family to get moving with the added benefit of some vocabulary,” Ritchie said. “The kids were giggling, and were inspired to make up their own movements too. These will be perfect brain breaks for our current at-home learning schedule.”

Fay said she has been able to continue paying the entire company through the shelter-in-place orders, and hosts a weekly Zoom meeting with all the dancers and the ballet master. Rehearsing has been a serious challenge recently.

“Dance is an art form that depends heavily on proximity,” Ammon said.

Nonetheless, Wonderbound is still trying to focus on upcoming shows, including a revival of “The Sandman,” a “new-fangled Western” choreographed to the roots rock of the Gasoline Lollipops. In fact, one “Dance Along” video features Amanda Bouza teaching a chair dancing scene from “The Sandman.”

Ammon said the performance videos are a way to continue reaching regular ticket holders.

“We thought about our audience and our community,” he said. “They love seeing our artists and their artistry.”

Fay said the dancers have been choreographing the performances on their own, and either using music in the public domain or personally reaching out to local Colorado musicians for permission.

Ammon said he hopes the videos provide some uplift in difficult times.

“Our world needs as much creativity and art in it as possible right now,” he said.