Mountain Steps

JENNIFER GRACE remembers the moment she decided to become a ballet dancer.

A restless little girl in a small Montana town, Grace was “one of those kids that just cannot sit still,” she says. That is, until the day her attention froze on a full-length production of Romeo and Juliet being broadcast on PBS.

“I sat like a statue that entire time,” says Grace. “So much so that my mother was actually concerned,” she laughs. Grace says she still remembers the touch of the couch and the way her feet tingled. “I knew then and there,” she says.

Grace is now a principal dancer for Colorado Ballet, where she’s wrapping up her fourth season. The company, established in 1961, is under the artistic direction of Gil Boggs, who structures the five-show seasons according to a loose formula, as inviting to curious newcomers as it is interesting to discerning connoisseurs.

For the 2025–2026 season, they will start with a classical work in the fall, Dracula, then move straight into The Nutcracker—“Everyone expects The Nutcracker,” says Boggs. After that it’s a lesser-known ballet like Casanova, which was performed in January, and The Great Gatsby, on the bill for next season, followed by a family-friendly production to help “develop the audience,” says Boggs. For the upcoming season that will be a refreshed rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with new sets and costumes.

Every season closes with the annual repertoire production, “MasterWorks,” ranging from well-loved neoclassical numbers to exciting world premieres. “It’s basically a bucket list of ballets that the dancers want to dance,” says Boggs.

Next season’s “MasterWorks” show will include the world premiere of a work by Yoshihisa Arai, the accomplished, Cincinnati-based choreographer commissioned by Colorado Ballet.

Arai has worked with the company on a “MasterWorks” production before, having choreographed its 2024 piece, Bolero. The new work will be created this summer during a three-week residency in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, in conjunction with the Green Box Arts Festival. Attendees to the festival in June and July will be treated to excerpts from the new work as it develops, before its world premiere in March 2026.

“Working with Yoshi again is going to be fantastic,” says Grace, who starred in Bolero. “I can’t wait to see what he comes up with, how far he pushes us as dancers.”

Colorado Ballet will perform its repertoire and excerpts of new work at the 2025 Green Box Arts Festival.