DanceAspen presents CRESCENDO at Aspen's Wheeler Opera House on August 27–28, a mixed bill built around music and anchored by the North American premiere of Samantha Lynch's A Boléro.

Lynch, a principal dancer with the Norwegian National Ballet and a rising choreographer, created A Boléro as a highly physical pas de deux set to Ravel's iconic score. Founder and executive director Laurel Winton, who trained alongside Lynch at San Francisco Ballet School, knew immediately she wanted her dancers in it. Staging the work required constructing a massive box — the company's biggest set piece yet. "A Boléro became what I built this whole program around," Winton says.

For managing director Allison Walsh, the premiere carries weight beyond Aspen. "I think it's really cool that Laurel's bringing this up-and-coming female choreographer to North America for the first time," she says. "There aren't a lot of small companies that can say that."

DanceAsplen launched in 2021 after the shuttering of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. The seven-dancer, dancer-created contemporary ballet company has since performed over 35 world premieres and built a dedicated local fanbase through community engagement.

The CRESCENDO program also includes Alejandro Cerrudo's eight-minute PACOPEPEPLUTO, set to songs by mid-20th-century crooner Dean Martin — the company's first Cerrudo work. Winton worked with Spanish choreographer Cayetano Soto to compile music-driven portions of his existing ballets into a new arrangement, SAVOURY BITES. Rounding out the bill is a preview of Take Me Home, a multi-choreographer world premiere set to the music of John Denver, who lived in Aspen for much of his career.

This month's preview features 18 minutes of loosely narrative movement by Penny Saunders alongside DanceAspen artists and in-house choreographers Jonah Delgado and Matthew Gilmore, performed to live band accompaniment and set to hits like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Rocky Mountain High." Jamar Roberts, Pam Tanowitz, and Noelle Kayser will join the creative team for the full-length premiere in February 2027.

Each choreographer has claimed certain songs — Saunders has taken on the most, with six — and the process is collaborative across the dancers and creative team. "We're all talking about the music and costumes together in a way that is very grassroots," Saunders says. She recently participated in another multi-choreographer project, for BalletX, with Roberts, and finds the model suits DanceAspen: "DanceAspen is a small organization, so everybody pulls their weight in a beautiful way."

Take Me Home also draws on Denver's deep connection to Aspen. "The main metaphor comes from aspen trees — they look like separate entities, but the entire grove is connected by the same root system," Walsh explains. "It's exploring themes of home. Our home."

Winton says she seeks choreographers who take risks with her dancers rather than repeat proven formulas. "They're not people who've figured out a formula and produce the same work everywhere," she says. "Whether they're established or up-and-coming, they're curious and are always looking for more from their artists and work."

As opening night approaches, Winton and Walsh frame CRESCENDO as a measure of the company's growth. "We've been able to do this because of the support of the Aspen community, which has really embraced us," Winton says. "We've been able to grow and give our dancers raises each year. I think it's just wonderful, this collection of the right people coming together to build this crescendo of work." With the full Take Me Home premiere scheduled for February 2027, the company's trajectory suggests the crescendo is still building.