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Bringing dance to the people

Jennifer Girtell, Nikki Friedin and Noelle Robinson perform "Hanai" at Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale. The women are members of the CSU Tour Dance Company, which toward schools from Aspen to Rifle perform a Dance Lecture series, performing several culturally diverse styles of dance and bringing students on stage to learn dance steps. (Jordan Curet/The Aspen Times)
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The Aspen Dance Connection, a nonprofit in the Roaring Fork Valley since 1978, brought the Colorado State University Tour Company and Chu-Fu Chang, assistant professor of the dance program at CSU and the company’s director, to local schools to perform five times. Aspen Times Photographer Jordan Curet went to Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale to watch the action, and captured these images.

According to Fran Page, the dance connection’s artistic and executive director, in the past two years the nonprofit has reached 2,000 children from Aspen to Rifle, and they’re planning to reach 4,000 children in the area this school year alone. The Aspen Dance Connection focuses on educating young people on the beauty of all styles of dance.

Just this last week, the CSU Tour Company performed at Basalt Middle School, Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale (for Crystal River Elementary), the Aspen Community School in Woody Creek, Wamsley Elementary in Rifle and Roy Moore Elementary School in Silt.