Centennial State Ballet's spring gala performance returns to the stage after two years

After a two-year hiatus, Centennial State Ballet, or CBS, will return to the stage in their annual spring gala performance featuring Don Quixote at the end of this month. 

“Don Quixote dreams of adventure,” CBS’s press release about the spring gala performance stated. “He takes Sancho Panza on a quest in search of Dulcinea, a woman Don Quixote believes to be so lovely and noble that she must be divinity.”

CBS’s gala performance of Don Quixote will spotlight dancers who range from kindergarten to seniors in high school. 

According to CBS Community Coordinator Laura Malpass, CBS performers and staff, as well as their audiences, are excited about the upcoming spring gala performance following a two year break from live events due to the pandemic — especially CBS’s senior students. 

A couple of years ago, one of CBS’s fall showcases featured a short version of the Don Quixote ballet. This year’s expansion has excited many of the older students who were able to also perform in the short version, Malpass said. 

“Our (older performers) can look back and think about when they performed Don Quixote before, the role they had in it when they were younger and see how much they’ve grown,” Malpass said. 

Moreover, “our seniors are excited because this is their final performance with Centennial State Ballet during their senior year,” Malpass added, “and they’ll actually be able to get that live applause and take their final bow to celebrate the time they’ve had with us.”

Apart from CBS’s seniors, CBS’s upcoming gala performance will feature dancers from a wide age range as part of the large village scenes in the Don Quixote ballet, according to Malpass. 

“In Don Quixote, we have these large village scenes where we have kindergartners on stage with seniors because we have multiple roles interacting with each other,” Malpass said. “It’s really special to see that age range come together to create the show.”

The decision to make Don Quixote part of CBS’s spring repertoire, in part, had to do with the live music component of the show. 

While CBS knew it would be difficult to bring an entire chamber orchestra on board to play live performances because of the ongoing pandemic, according to Malpass, the live music that accompanies the Don Quixote ballet can be played by one pianist. 

Pianist Alaina DeBellevue will play the entire score in CBS’s upcoming gala performance of Don Quixote, which, Malpass said, “is fun because all of our music lovers out there love the score, and we love dancing to live music.” 

“We’re just so excited to be bringing the show back,” Malpass added. 

CBS will have live gala performances featuring Don Quixote at the Niwot High School Auditorium on April 30 at 2 p.m. and May 1 at 1 p.m. 

The performances will also be live streamed.

Tickets to attend CBS’s spring gala performances in person or virtually can be purchased here or by emailing [email protected]. 

CORRECTION: This article's title has been altered to reflect that, while CBS has returned to the stage in other performances this season, this is the first time since 2019 that CBS will have their spring gala performance in person.