Let’s Talk Performing Arts with Cleo Parker Robinson

Spend some time with Cleo Parker Robinson in public, and suddenly Denver feels like a small town. Why is that? Because it seems like everybody knows her, and she knows everybody. As the founder of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance — one of the premier dance companies in America — she has played an integral role in distinguishing Denver as a world-class city of arts and culture. She is a passionate advocate not only of the performing arts, but also the history and diversity of the Mile High City. But as we found out when we sat down to talk with her, Cleo’s passion for Colorado goes far beyond the city limits.

We’re standing before the Denver Art Museum’s new addition, which has garnered national attention and has almost overnight become an emblem for the city. In a larger sense, is this Denver’s moment right now?
Oh, absolutely. It has got to be one of the most exciting places in the country, if not the world. This has got to be one of the places people should put on their “To-Do Travel Spots” list. I think it always surprises people. They think about mountains, they think about sports, and then they begin to see that there is so much culture. Once people open that door they go, “oh my goodness, I had no idea!” This new arts institute — with the acclaimed architect of ours designing it — it’s received a total international focus. It’s extraordinary. And it goes down to the smallest individual artist. We have a real range from fine arts to performing arts. It’s really thriving and vital.

You bring up vitality. Does the city’s vitality spur on this dynamic scene in which so many new things are happening?
I’ve been living here my whole life. I was born in Denver. I’m a native. And I’ll leave and come back from an international tour, and I go “Oh my gosh, when did this happen?!” (Laughs). I was just with my friend Henry Lowenstein, and the Bonfils Theater — which I grew up near — is now the Tattered Cover. And it is just a wonderful bookstore. The other night I bought loads of books there because I was so emotionally attached to that building, having grown up near it as a young artist.

What makes Denver and Colorado so culturally vibrant?
I really think it has to do with the diversity of things to do. We have a major symphony, two opera companies — which I think is amazing — we have many smaller orchestras and ensembles at the Lamont School of Music. Many of our universities have fantastic music and dance programs. There’s also the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in Pueblo — which is tremendous — and my company has worked at the Pikes Peak Performing Arts Center in Colorado Springs, and years ago we performed at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins and there was some marvelous live jazz there. Here in Denver, we talk about theater. I’ve served on the board at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and I was able to have my company in residence as an affiliate there for many, many years. We even opened the Boetcher Concert Hall in 1977, and having these innovative spaces — like the Denver Art Museum — and innovative thinkers, makes a difference. We really have a pioneering spirit — I know it sounds hokey, you know “oh, well, you’re in the West!” (Laughs). But there really is something about being in an open space … your ideas are more open. We’re in the middle of the U.S., and we’re no longer the city people go over, we’re the city people come to.

Are there any particular festivals in the state that you like to attend?

In Boulder, I just finished performing for the African Festival. There were many students from all over Africa at the University of Colorado. There I am, thinking I’m in Ethiopia, and there were Ghanaians and Senegalese. We’ve brought a lot of these cultures here. My roots are in the African-American experience, so it’s a particularly special event for me. And we’ve done the Cherry Creek Arts Festival before; we’ve opened that a few times. We’ve also done the Black Arts Festival in Denver as well, which is fabulous.

Does Denver draw in world-class artistic talent?
Oh my god yes!

Why is that?
I mean now there is something happening all of the time, and the talent is really homegrown, but a lot of it is attracted here from around the world, from classical musicians to jazz musicians to fantastic dancers. Even now, I find that people that come to our concerts will also fly to New York and come back to see us. There is a spirit here that supports arts and culture that is pretty phenomenal. People need to know that this is a Mecca for the arts.

You’re dance ensemble has been up and running for 36 years. Are people surprised to hear that such an internationally recognized company has been in Denver all these years?
I think they are always just amazed that we grew out of Denver. That we didn’t build a world-class company in some place like New York and move it to Denver. They always say, “Well, when did you move out of New York?” and I think, “They’ll never get it.” Denver has taken real ownership in making this dance company a world-class company by supporting our performances and classes. So we’re an integral part of the community. This is rooted and really homegrown. Years ago, I used to audition dancers in New York. Now I audition in Denver. They come here, and the reason is, I want them to audition here. When I used to audition them in New York, they’d want to stay in New York and I’d tell them “Denver isn’t New York. It’s better.” (Laughs). For an artist, the quality of life out here is better.

Tell us about the part of town where your studio resides — the historic Five Points neighborhood.
I was born in Five Points. I had no idea how special that fact was until I was older. Five Points was a thriving artist community. Everybody came to Five Points. Anybody who came from anywhere in the country, who wanted to hear fine music — mostly jazz and blues — came to Five Points because of the wonderful black-owned clubs that were there. Remember, those were the days that there was an Air Force base and an Army base near Denver. So many of the artists that were in the Army or Air Force and who traveled around the world would come through Denver, and the Servicemen’s Club was down in Five Points. People like Sammy Davis Jr., who was in the service, would come down to the neighborhood. It was just amazing. It was like the Harlem of Denver, and that was just where I lived.

What’s it like today?
Those clubs have changed. Like the Rossonian has become a gallery. The Rossonian was both a hotel and a club, and it was black-owned. It was the only hotel that blacks could stay at back then and it was the only place back then when people of different colors could come together. Today, it’s a wonderful area with new businesses, some of the same businesses, too. It’s very exciting. We have the African-American Caldwell-Blair Library, which has a lot of special events. In fact, the mayor’s office just did a jazz festival at the library. And our building today is a historic building, a church where people like Hattie McDaniel — the first black actress to receive the Academy Award — used to sing. I was introduced to the Shorter AME Church through a concert by Roland Hayes, and I walked into the church feeling like I was in Carnegie Hall. So the building we’re in is at the pivotal point of Five Points. Five Points is really 26th and Welton, and we’re at 23rd and Washington, so we’re only three or four blocks from it. And then there is Blackberry’s which is a coffeeshop that is better than Starbucks. They have cultural things going on. When you walk into it, it’s community. They do poetry slams, and a Black Muslim owns it. People in there are of all colors — you get every shade, and you can see the fabric of our community. People don’t expect this in Denver, and that’s the beauty of it.

If a visitor were to ask you what they should do while in Denver, what would you suggest?
I would tell them to come to Cleo Parker Robinson Dance! (Laughs). I mean it, though. They would be able to come in, take a dance class, watch us in rehearsal, learn about the different kinds of performances, from hip-hop to poetry, even to the Moscow String Quartet, who we opened my theater with. Who knows who’ll be there on any given day? And we have classes for ages 3 and on up. In the summer, we also do jazz festivals right on the corner. We’ve even brought in (South African musician) Hugh Masekela and we closed the street off and we were dancing in the street. It’s a festival that is always jammin’. And there are great places to shop and experience in our neighborhood. I’d send them to Akente Express, which sells art, music, artifacts from all over Africa, fantastic Kwanza gifts. And all the soul food on Welton Restaurant, like M&D’s Restaurant and a place we just went to called Tom’s. Pierre’s also has some great catfish. It’s a mix of everything here. I love the diversity; I love the spirit and community.

Let’s talk about the state in a broader sense: what other places within Colorado are you particularly fond of?
Oh my gosh, we opened the first dance festival in Telluride, and we opened the first dance festival in Crested Butte. I’m also fond of Boulder and the University of Colorado. I came out of CU teaching, in the early days, the first black dance program there. At CC (Colorado College in Colorado Springs), I received an honorary doctorate there. That’s another wonderful place for me. And of course, the University of Denver, where we are now performing at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. These institutions are so vital — I just love universities like that.

What is it about these communities — Boulder, Colorado Springs, Telluride, Crested Butte? Is it just an instant feeling of being a part of their community through the arts?
Oh yes. It’s everything. Like in Vail, I just opened the Vail International Dance Festival, and I think people just love the company, they love the caliber, they love that it’s just so open, and warm and bright and beautiful. And I think we all take great pride in each other. We become family immediately when we perform at these places. I remember when we were performing in Crested Butte, they would just lend us their cars and their homes — we didn’t even need hotels. They’d say, “If you need my car, I’ll leave the keys.” There is this sense of openness and community that is in these places.

If you could pick one word to describe Colorado, what would it be and why?
Oh my! One word? (Laughs).

Oh, I suppose you can pick two or three if you want.
(Laughs). I always say this about my company: we express the power, the beauty and the passion. And that’s what I feel when people come to Colorado. There is something magical and it is contagious. The spirit that you feel, you just want some more. It’s a wonderful addiction! I work all over the world, and when I have come back to Denver, and I go “I just love being here. I love being home.” I think Colorado is embracing. You get a big huge hug, and we do that a lot. In other places, people are a little afraid to talk. There’s a different kind of energy, which is a vital energy.

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updated: 01/02/07