DanceAspen ends summer on a high note with ‘Take Flight’ and ‘Solstice’

When DanceAspen first reached out to Christel Stiver, wine director at the Hotel Jerome, about pairing wine with dance, she wasn’t sure what to think.

“I raised my eyebrows at first”, said Stiver. “It’s a unique and first-time experience for me, but I was very excited to have the chance to get creative.”

Stiver embraced the challenge, picking wines from the list with illustrative names that evoked dance movements in her mind, like Topotero Vineyard’s “Scar of the Sea” rose of pinot noir.

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She settled on five wines: two whites, two reds and a dessert wine that she will pour alongside DanceAspen’s upcoming performance, “Take Flight,” on the Hotel Jerome terrace on Thursday.

“Take Flight” is the brainchild of New York-based dancer and producer Allison Walsh, who also serves on DanceAspen’s advisory committee. 

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Walsh has known Laurel Winton, founder and executive director of DanceAspen, since they were both young dancers at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. Like Winton, Walsh transitioned from ballet to musical theater and has been exploring new opportunities in her career, including producing.

She said that the idea to pair wine and dance came up when she and Winton were discussing summer and some of the tentpole events including the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

“I love food and I love wine. Bringing performance together with wine tasting just popped into my head because it’s an accessible way for people to enjoy both. It’s a sensory experience,” said Walsh. “It’s also a way to see how two art forms play off one another. I’m passionate about people connecting with dance, so if we make it a little more intriguing or exciting to experience dance on this sort of more intimate level, perhaps they will seek it out more.”

Winton added that she found many similar aspects between winemaking and choreography.

“A winemaker’s canvas begins through tasting, blending, and aging, where the choreographer’s canvas begins is with an artist in the space,” said Winton. “The choices of the winemaker determine the character and style of the wine, where the choices of the choreographer and artist determine the story, intent, and effect of the performance. This is a convergence of both art forms.”

DanceAspen’s summer programming doesn’t end with “Take Flight.” For the first time, the company will present a summer performance, “Solstice,” which will have its Aspen premiere on August 25 -26 at the Wheeler Opera House.

“Solstice,” will be made up of four pieces in the performance, welcoming two new choreographers, a new commission and a company favorite.

Winton called “Solstice” DanceAspen’s “most exciting program yet,” citing the works of two world-renowned choreographers, Cayetano Soto and Matthew Neenan who both worked on the upcoming show, as well as the return of a beloved piece.

“Cayetano Soto is a highly regarded choreographer in the dance industry worldwide. We are the first American company to premiere one of the two works we’re bringing to Aspen,” said Winton. “Equally as exciting is the new commission that Matthew Neenan has created for DanceAspen. We just premiered part of this new creation at the Vail Dance Festival for the NOW: Premieres and will present the full production here. Lastly, I am excited to bring back one of our staple works choreographed by the internationally known and Australian based choreographer Daniel Rowe created for DanceAspen in March 2022.”

Matthew Neenan who was described as “one of America’s best dance poets,” in The New York Times, was previously with the Philadelphia Ballet, first as a dancer for thirteen years and then as a choreographer for another thirteen. He also founded the company BalletX in 2005 and has history and professional connections with Winton and dancer Blake Krapels at DanceAspen that led him here this summer.

He said that while he has choreographed for many companies in the last two decades, big and small, he was excited to work with the new company.

“My heart is always with smaller companies, like DanceAspen,” he said. “All the dancers take a part in the growth of the company, they’re not just in being told what to do. They have a kind of a say on the trajectory of things, which is really great.”

Neenan said that when he works with a group of dancers for the first time he leads with the music and lets it inspire and mold the program. He said he really got into the idea of creating movement in unison that had the dancers move “like a community of specimens.”

They premiered part of the program last week in Vail as part of “NOW: Premieres,” and Neenan said he was thrilled by the dancers and how they were received.

“They really showed up in Vail,” he said “They were amongst all these ballet stars, and they really proved themselves, and people were very impressed by them. So that’s very exciting. Now all they have to do is maintain.”

Sarah Girgis is the Arts and Entertainment Editor for The Aspen Times. She can be reached at 970-429-9151 or sgirgis@aspentimes.com.