In Motion

At the end of February, “Marty Supreme” actor and millennial heartthrob Timothée Chalamet made waves by claiming “no one cares” about ballet or opera. But Chalamet was way off the mark—the performing arts are thriving, including here in Boulder County. You just have to know where to look and what to look for. The dance that might change your life could be happening right around the corner from you, and you don’t even know it yet.

That’s how Lorita Travaglia, founder and creative director of Parasol Arts, felt after she started dancing Argentine tango. “I’d been a professional ballet dancer all my life,” she says. “I hadn’t heard about Argentine tango all of those years. So, I started wondering, how can I spread the word?” In 2012, Lorita founded Parasol Arts to promote the art of Argentine tango through performance. 

In March, Parasol Arts hosted its most recent performance of “Carmen: The Tango” at Boulder’s Dairy Arts Center. “The story of Carmen is so tango!” Lorita says. “Tragedy, love, all of it. The language of Argentine tango is just perfect for a performance of Carmen.” Parasol Arts first premiered “Carmen: the Tango” in Denver in 2018, set to the iconic score composed by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin. “The show has developed a lot—and hopefully improved a lot,” Lorita says. For the 2026 production, Lorita brought on Gustavo Naveira, formerly of the Boulder Tango Studio, as artistic advisor. 

“My goal is to reach those people who have no idea what Argentine tango is,” Lorita says. A traditional partner dance, Argentine tango can be danced socially or for performance. Often, people have to see a dance performed before they get curious about trying it for themselves. “Tango really helped me through a difficult time in my life,” Lorita recalled. “I had to be totally focused on that second of time, focused on my partner, and I couldn’t think about anything else. I found being in the moment like that beneficial in so many ways. It really transformed my life.” 

Argentine tango isn’t the only dance form that invites absolute presence. For Katie Elliott, artistic director of 3rd Law Dance/Theater, that’s what performance is all about. “With live art performance, we’re inviting the audience to have a personal experience that turns into a communal experience through conversation,” she says. 

Founded in 2001, 3rd Law has spent the past twenty-five years creating innovative, collaborative performances in unconventional spaces. Its current show, “Uncontainable,” was developed in collaboration with The Catamounts, a local theater company. The show takes place in several different shipping containers stationed throughout the parking garage behind the former Macy’s department store on 29th Street. The experience of the show, according to Katie, is like looking through a viewfinder: “You’re getting a big world inside a contained space.” The themes of the show reiterate the irreplaceability of human connection and the magic of a discrete, embodied encounter that occurs within time and space. 

Katie believes that dance belongs in every space and to every body. To that end, 3rd Law also operates a Dance for Parkinson’s program that uses dance to help people with movement challenges retain their mobility. “I think art is everywhere,” Katie says. “And dance will change the world.” 

Claudia Anata Hubiak, executive director of Boulder Ballet, shares the conviction that dance should be accessible. While many people know Boulder Ballet for its world-class performances, the organization also operates a robust dance education program for all ages and a community engagement arm that offers in-school programs to public schools (many of them Title I) throughout five different counties in Colorado. 

Over the past five years, the company has been shifting away from classical works and toward more contemporary ballet. “Rather than tutus and tiaras, people can expect a lot of partnering, athleticism, a lot of really nuanced and complex choreography,” Claudia says. Boulder Ballet has worked with renowned choreographers from around the country to bring cutting-edge ballet performances to Boulder audiences. “You can expect to see world-class dance that you would typically see on either coast,” Claudia says. “The caliber of the professional company and the artists that are here has really gone through the roof.” 

Boulder Ballet’s performance season runs from September to May, starting with its one-night-only Chautauqua season opener in September. Boulder Ballet currently does six mainstage performances a year, plus a storybook ballet featuring the students and the school showcase. 

“From an education standpoint, one of the things that we pride ourselves on is that it’s never too late to start,” Claudia says. Boulder Ballet offers classes for all age groups and skill and experience levels. “There are a lot of stereotypes around ballet,” Claudia says. “We are really looking to be a space where people feel comfortable, where people can take risks, put themselves out there, and learn something new. It’s about finding your center and expanding your reach.” 

For more information, visit parasolarts.org, 3rdlaw.org, and boulderballet.org.