Illustrations by Adri Norris
Welcome to a fun and interesting way to introduce students to a cultural icon, Cleo Parker Robinson, as she shares her exciting story as a dancer, choreographer, educator, and social activist.
Learn about Cleo's contributions to the preservation and advancement of the legacy of American modern dance and its foundation in the traditions of African-American dance. Inspire and educate your young dancer and encourage them to use all the colors of the rainbow, because that's one of Cleo's favorite things!
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
Published by CPRD dba New DanceTheatre, a Non-Profit Arts Organization
119 Park Avenue West Denver, Colorado 80205
cleoparkerdance.org | Founded in 1970
First Edition, February 2023
Published in Denver, Colorado
Copyright @2023 Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, CPRD, New Dance Theatre
Art and design by AfroTriangleDesigns.com/Adri Norris
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
First Edition, February 2023, Paperback. Distributed for Black History Month 2023 in Denver, Colorado.
ISBN: 979-8-9872804-0-9
Library of Congress is cataloguing this first edition; at press time we indicate below our draft (not the LOC official cataloging:
Parker Robinson, Cleo, b. 1948. Coloring With Cleo/Cleo Parker Robinson p. cm
ISBN 979-8-9872804-0-9
1. African American Culture-Non-Fiction
3. Modern Dance-Non-Fiction
I. Title.
2. African American Art-Non-Fiction
4. Dance History-Non-Fiction
Cataloging numbers in progress February 2023; general classification: GV 1645-GV 1728 (Dance history (and historical dance)
American Modern Dance Master/African American/Global Traditions. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Coloring Book
Cleo Parker Robinson, Author; Adri Norris, Illustrator.
Printed in the Tribal Lands of The Pala Nation/Pala Band of Mission Indians (San Diego County, California, United States)
Tribal Print Source, a tribally owned non-profit print and training facility. 36146 Pala Temecula Rd Bldg. J, Pala, CA 92059
This is Cleo Parker Robinson with her parents, Jonathon
Parker. Both were musicians and her father was a wellknown black actor
mixed-race couple,
Ms. Cleo was the oldest of their four children.
Wrandell
Sue Cleo
John
This is Charles Burrell who was born in 1920! He’s one of the great musicians who played at the Rossonian. He brought Ms. Cleo and her mother home from the hospital in 1948 when she was born, because her father had to work.
George Curtis Winifred
Roslyn
Ronnie
This is our company home where we have our offices, studios, and theatre. Our home is in the historic Shorter AME Building, in the iconic Five Points. There is so much history here and so much more still to create!
Part of Ms. Cleo’s idea of “bringing the world together” was to create pieces about People of Color and the universal village as she confronted racism and celebrated diverse cultures. This picture shows the creators of “Cleo and Gordon: Two Artists in Collaboration”, a documentary about the Civil Rights Movement and Angela Davis.
Gordon Parks Sr.: composer, film maker
Ms. Cleo s dancers
by the Pharaohs of Egypt
the Nile". She was a dancer and the Rehearsal Director for the company for 38 years.
And “Raindance” , choreographed by Milton Myers in 1984--the company’s signature piece, inspired by all people and the culture of movement.
Many people inspired Ms. Cleo’s vision and choreography, including her teachers, family, and ancestors. This is one of Ms. Cleo’s teachers and honored mentors: Rita Berger, who danced under the direction of the great George Balanchine at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
Marceline Freeman
Randy Brooks
Cleo Parker Robinson
Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum” celebrates holidays from around the world! We use dance, song, and spoken word to tell these wonderful stories!
“
musicians of all ages in the show, including the Ensemble and our Academy, creating our "Granny" village.
Davry Ratcliffe
Ralaya S. Goshea
Cleo Parker Robinson
Cedric D. Hall
Chloé-Grant Abel
Margarita Taylor as Granny (with the Granny kids)
East Indian Dance with Namita Khanna Nariani
Mexican Folklorico with Jeanette Trujillo
Peace, Love, and Respect for Everybody!
Axe Axe! - -
Acknowledgements
The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD) Coloring Book was created thanks to a grant by the Denver Metro area's Scientific and Cultural Facilities District's (SCFD's) support of Tier III organizations such as CPRD--and their continued investments into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work.
This coloring book was created through many hours of consultation between Cleo Parker Robinson, Founder and Artist; Adri Norris, and the staff at CPRD. This coloring book is dedicated to Cleo's parents, Jonathon and Martha Parker, and to dancers everywhere.
CLEO PARKER ROBINSON is the Founder and Artistic Director of the over 50-year-old Denver based CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE. As a master teacher/choreographer and cultural ambassador world-wide, she oversees the renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, as well as Cleo II (her 2nd Company), a Youth Ensemble, an Academy of Dance, an International Summer Dance Institute, a 240-seat theatre and a diversity of educational and community outreach programs.
Cleo is the recipient of a myriad of honors and awards from civic, community, and artistic organizations world-wide, as she and her Ensemble continuously provide performances, workshops, commissioned works, master classes, and community programming and engagement. Her philosophy of "One Spirit, Many Voices" is reflected in all that she does and is the vision she and her organization share everywhere they go.
ADRI NORRIS is an artist who focuses on telling the stories of women in history. She uses her experiences as a Black, lesbian, immigrant woman in America as a guide when it comes to selecting her subjects. What we choose not to elevate gets lost or buried, so she has placed her focus on some of the most marginalized among us in order to shift the narrative and seek equity in the conversations about our shared history.
Photo: Jerry Metellus
Photo: courtesy Denver Art Museum
