MAZING DENVER WITH WARREN STOKES

typically mid to late afternoon.

• Don’t rely on perspiration to cool you down, some people just don’t sweat as much as they age. Getting outdoors and enjoying the sun and warmer temps should stay on everyone’s to-do list. However, a few basic precautions and awareness of what to look for and when to shut things down will help deliver a fun, safe summer for Coloradans of all ages.

Stacey Johnson, RN, NHA, is the area director of Clinical Services for Ascent Living Communities, which includes Carillon at Belleview Station in Greenwood Village, Hilltop Reserve in Denver, the Village at Belmar in Lakewood and Roaring Fork Senior Living in Glenwood Springs.

Do you see us?

This maze art is meant to bring attention to an event that is designed to provide African American teens with an opportunity to have their voices heard through sharing collective experiences and community building. The 2023 African American Teen Summit, which is being put on by the local nonprofit Our Mindful Kingdom, takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Pavilion at Central Park, 8801 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd., Denver. It is free to attend and will include a Teen Talk session, a Parents Pavilion, panel discussions, networking, and an art expo and party that will include teen entrepreneurs and creatives. A box lunch will be provided. To learn more about the summit, visit ourmindfulkingdom.org. To solve this maze, start at any S — located on both pinky fingers and both palms of the hands — and maze-out to the W for win where the index fingers connect.

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance partners with Scandinavian choreographer for September performance

To learn more about Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, or to purchase tickets for the upcoming “Firebird” performances, visit cleoparkerdance. org.

To learn more about the Tabanka Dance Ensemble, visit tabankadance. com.

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Cleo Parker Robinson grew up in the historic Rossonian Hotel in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, the Rossonian Hotel catered to touring Black musicians during segregation. Parker Robinson lived in an apartment at the hotel, above a jazz lounge that hosted legendary Black musicians like Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. She would go to sleep every night hearing music being performed by artists from around the country and the globe, taking in their energy and dreaming about how she would one day make her mark on the world.

“As a child, it felt worldly to me. I was always hearing classical music, jazz music and music from all over the world,” Parker Robinson said. “It just made me want to bring the world together all the time. I always felt like I wanted to be in the world. Growing up there was destiny.”

Parker Robinson has certainly made her mark on the world, particularly through her founding of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD). Based in Denver, it is one of the world’s most wellknown, reputable dance companies. With her company, she aims to honor the African Diaspora, explore the human condition, champion social justice, unite people of all ages and races, and ultimately celebrate the complexity of life through movement. As part of her mission, CPRD each year hosts an International Summer Dance Institute for dancers of all ages and ability levels. e Children’s Global Camp teaches students more than a dozen dance genres through cultural movement. Past genres have included hip hop, capoeira, Celtic, Polynesian, West African, jazz, hula, modern, South Korean, amenco, ballet, Mexican folklorico and East

For more advanced dancers, CPRD o ers intensive master classes with some of dance’s most in uential artists. Guest choreographers come from all over the world to work with CPRD dancers during the International Summer Dance Institute. is year, CPRD welcomes omas

Talawa Prestø, founder and artistic director of the Tabanka Dance Ensemble based in Oslo, Norway. He is visiting as a guest choreographer and teacher of his Talawa technique of dance.

“ omas Prestø and I discovered that we have this connection, this powerful connection,” said Parker Robinson. “I’d been curious about Norway for a while. When I previously visited Iceland, I only met one Black person. When I met omas and he said he was from Norway, I said, ‘no way, I didn’t think there are any Black folks in Norway.’ When I met him at the International Association of Blacks in Dance, he was so hungry and so present. I connected with him immediately.”

Prestø said he felt the same about meeting Parker Robinson.

“Cleo Parker Robinson has been a lighthouse and inspiration to us across the Atlantic,” said Prestø. “Fate, God and the ancestors have brought the opportunity for us to work together. Together we will a rm dance as a catalyst for social justice and a refuge for the oppressed. rough movement yesterday arrives today, and brings tomorrow.”

Prestø’s Tabanka Dance Ensemble was founded in order to promote and represent the existence of Black personhood and identity in Norway and Scandinavia. As one of the leading institutions of African Diaspora dance in Europe and the Nordic countries, Tabanka seeks to advance the sector through sharing knowledge, practices and advocating for equity within the European and Nordic art sectors, as well as society at large.

Tabanka Dance Ensemble dancers specialize in African and Caribbean dance practices. ey are Scandinavian pioneers, carving a space for Black and Brown dance artists and challenging the normativity of the northern European dance and arts eld. Each dancer is also trained as a youth and community worker, and is highly committed to equity and inclusion, and work to ensure that economy, race, ethnicity and culture are not a barrier to participation.

‘Firebird’ and ‘Catch a Fire’ e Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will be performing on Sept. 16-17 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, along with select members of the Tabanka Dance Ensemble. e program will include three performances: “Firebird,” choreo- graphed by Parker Robinson; “Catch a Fire,” choreographed by Prestø; and the third performance was yet to be announced as of Colorado Community Media’s press deadline.

“To see this combination of what we’re doing with the Tabanka dancers from another culture is real education,” said Parker Robinson. “People get to embrace this beautiful thing of music and dance that we’re all a part of.”

Parker Robinson’s performance of “Firebird” will be set amid the enchanting Hawaiian islands, presenting an unconventional concept that departs from the traditional Slavic versions of the ballet. e essence of Pelé — the powerful Goddess of the Volcano — permeates the performance and introduces the presence of historical gures like King Kamehameha and Queen Lili’uokalani, paying homage to their signi cant contributions to Hawaiian history.

“I was invited to teach on the big island in Hawaii,” Parker Robinson said. “I didn’t know much about the culture at the time. Once I started working there, they invited me to dance on the edge of a volcano. I was terri ed (but) it was of the most invigorating, close-to-death experiences I’ve ever had. en I started teaching there, at the volcano, every year for 10 years. Hawaiian culture on the Big Island is just so alive.” is experience inspired Parker Robinson, and in 1997, she choreographed “Firebird” for the Colorado Symphony, working with Marin Alsop, who was the principal conductor at the time.

“ e dancers I have now never did that version of ‘Firebird’ with me, so I’ve reconstructed it” for the September performances, said Parker Robinson.

In addition to Parker Robinson’s “Firebird,” Prestø will present his original work, “Catch a Fire.” Inspired by both Parker Robinson and Bob Marley lyrics, the piece will be perfectly juxtaposed to “Firebird.”

“Bob Marley’s lyrics are all about consequence. ey’re about anyone in power catching the consequences of their actions. So all of the songs in the piece kind of have this commonality,” said Prestø. “‘Catch a Fire’ is also about catching the re that Cleo (Parker Robinson) has created. It’s about carrying on the torch to the next generation.”

Black representation in dance

For both Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and the Tabanka Dance Ensemble, Black representation in dance is of critical importance.

“Growing up, we didn’t see enough of ourselves in any of the media. I think it is very important to read about — and to understand — our culture from a deeper and broader perspective,” said Parker Robinson. “Growing up, what we were seeing in the media was pretty degrading and it wasn’t very realistic of who we were. We had a tremendous desire to know more about our culture. In Denver, we began to build a place for ourselves. Most of our young people didn’t have opportunities to work, to create, to be paid, to develop. I think for young people, this has become an opportunity to continue to evolve.”

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Prestø mirrors Parker Robinson’s sentiment.

“ ere is a weird paradox of this idea that Blacks naturally and inherently sing, and that we have natural rhythm. But at the same time, (that) we don’t have culture and our dance is just at a body level — it’s not cerebral, it’s not intelligent. It is something we do by instinct, something we’re born with,” said Prestø. “Black dance is important because it reclaims intelligence and reclaims culture. It a rms it for the Black body. at is an aspect that we don’t talk about enough. We have to counter that image that is still there.”

Both Parker Robinson and Prestø are looking forward to sharing their work with the community this September.

“We all have that re energy that helped us survive the pandemic. We all had that re saying, ‘I want to live, I want to be alive, I want to dance, I want to sing, I want to nd my passion,’” Parker Robinson said. “You’ll nd that re in the work. I think that kind of re empowers people and helps build community.”

Add ltered water. Cook with love.

Mile High Happenings is a monthly column featuring community events in Denver, highlighting events in the central and central-south neighborhoods covered by the Washington Park Profile and Life on Capitol Hill newspapers.

Event submissions from community members and local organizations are welcome. Submissions should include brief details about the event and a photo or event logo. Deadline is the 20th of each month for the event to be listed the following month. Submissions can be emailed to Christy Steadman at csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com.

For more Mile High Happenings, visit lifeoncaphill.com or washparkprofile.com.

August and September

Denver Municipal Band: free concerts in the park

Time: Varies.

Location: Multiple.

Cost: Free.

Bright Nights at Four Mile

Time: 7-10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday; and 7-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Location: Four Mile Historic Park, 715 S. Forest St., Denver.

Cost: non-member: $25 adult and $15 child (3-12 years); member: $22 adult and $13 child.

Co-produced by Four Mile Historic Park and Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc., Bright Nights at Four Mile o ers an opportunity to experience an enormous interactive exhibit with larger-than-life sculptures that illuminate the grounds of the park’s 12 acres. Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc. is a national Chinese lantern festival producer, and according to a press release, its 10week run at Four Mile Historic Park in Denver will be the only opportunity to experience a Tianyu festival in the mountain west.

More information/reservations: fourmilepark. org/brightnights

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon

Time: O ered daily at 4:15 p.m.; and Friday nights at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 8 p.m.

Location: Gates Planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.

Cost: Museum admission plus special ticket to the planetarium. is planetarium experience will take attendees on a tour of the solar system while celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s album, “ e Dark Side Of e Moon.” It features state-of-the-art technology for the music and visuals, with nods to the band’s iconic imagery. Appropriate for all ages but recommended for 8 years and older.

More information/reservations: dmns.org e Denver Municipal Band is putting on many free concerts in the park throughout Denver this summer. ese are the August and September concerts:

Photo credit: NSC Creative and Pink Floyd.

Aug. 12: Cranmer Park, 7-8:30 p.m. (DMB Concert Band and neighborhood celebration)

Aug. 17: Central Park North Green, 6-8 p.m. (DMB Concert Band)

Aug. 18: Bates & Hobart Park, 7-8:30 p.m. (DMB Jazz Band)

Aug. 19: Platt Park, 6:30-8 p.m. (DMB Brass

International Rescue Committee’s Welcome Home fundraising gala

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Washington Park Boathouse, 701 S. Franklin St., Denver.

Cost: Tickets start at $75.

e International Rescue Committee’s second annual Welcome Home fundraising gala will raise funds for IRC’s refugee resettlement programs for its Denver clients. IRC is a not-

Meow Wolf’s Monster Battle

Time: 4-9 p.m.

Location: The Pavilion at Cheesman Park, 1900 E. 11th Ave., Denver.

Cost: Free. is all-ages event will provide attendees an opportunity to dance and showcase your best monster costume — whether it be cute, scary, silly or serious. ere will be games and a costume contest. Entertainment will be provided by DJ Snaggy and more TBA. No tickets or RSVPs required. Getting its start in 2008 in Santa Fe, this is the rst time for Denver to host a Meow Wolf Monster Battle. A Monster Battle Makers Workshop will take place from 2-5 p.m. Aug. 5 at Factory Fashion

Quintet and Family Movie Night)

Aug. 26: Mayfair Park, 6-7:30 p.m. (DMB Jazz Band)

Sept. 2: Central Park South 6-7:15 p.m. (DMB Jazz Band)

Sept. 9: Pulaski Park 6:30-8 p.m. (DMB Jazz Band)

More information/reservations: denvermunicipalband.org for-pro t that is internationally headquartered in New York with its Denver o ce located in Denver’s Virginia Village neighborhood. Entertainment for the Welcome Home event will be provided by Bella Diva World Dance, attendees will have the opportunity to browse artist Tim Wood’s latest photography series, and a full dinner will be catered by King of Shawarma & Kabob. More information/reservations: tinyurl. com/IRCDenver-WelcomeHome in the Stanley Marketplace, 2501 Dallas St., in Aurora. Recycled materials for monstermaking will be provided. Tickets cost $7 per person and children age 12 and younger are free. One adult ticket must be purchased for every two children. Proceeds support the Sun Valley Youth Center.

Photo courtesy of the Denver Municipal Band.

Logo courtesy of the International Rescue Committee’s website.

More information/reservations: tickets. meowwolf.com/events/denver/monsterbattle

Photo by Shayla Blatchford/Meow Wolf.

Aug.

Denver Public Library: An Evening with Author Jasmine Guillory

Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Location: Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1385 Curtis St.

Cost: Free.

e Denver Public Library’s Strong Library, Strong Denver program, in partnership with Denver Arts & Venues, is hosting New York Times bestselling novelist Jasmine Guillory. A few of Guillory’s books include “ e Wedding Date,” “ e

Aug. 19

South by Southeast festival

Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Location: Bible Park, 6802 E. Yale Ave., Denver.

Cost: Free.

is annual certi ably green event will feature food trucks, a beer garden, live music, vendors, kid’s activities, a giant solar-powered bubble tower, lawn games and more. It kicks o at 11 a.m. with a community bike parade around the park, during which community members are encouraged to decorate

Aug. 27

La Raza Park Day and Cruise

Time: 1-5 p.m.

Proposal” and “Drunk on Love,” and her work has appeared in e Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit and Time. e event will include a presentation and book signing by Guillory. Book sales will be available at the event.

More information/reservations: denverlibrary.org/event/love-air-eveningauthor-jasmine-guillory (Registration is optional but encouraged.)

Photo courtesy of an online media kit on Jasmine Guillory’s website: jasmineguillory.com.

Aug. 10-13

Denver Film: CinemaQ Film Festival

Time: Varies. Location: Sie FilmCenter, 2510 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.

Cost: Festival passes: $60 for Denver Film members/$70 non-member. Individual film tickets: $12 for Denver Film members/$15 nonmember.

Denver Film’s CinemaQ Film Festival celebrates the vibrate and diverse LGBTQ+ stories, providing an opportunity for everyone to enjoy a curated movies and programs that entertain, educate and empower. is year’s festival includes about a dozen full length lms plus shorts, panels and discussions, an opening night reception, and a marketplace and ice cream social.

their bike, scooter, stroller, wheelchair or other non-motorized wheels and participate in the parade.

More information/reservations: tinyurl.com/SouthBySoutheastFestivalDenver is local lowrider event — put on by Warm Cookies of the Revolution and Denver Arts & Venues — will o er an opportunity to view low rider vehicles, lucha libre wrestlers, breakdancing and Aztec dancers. ere will also be music, food and vendors.

Photo courtesy of Denver City Council District 4.

Location: La Raza Park, 1501 W. 38th Ave., Denver.

Cost: Free.

More information/reservations: warmcookiesoftherevolution.org (select calendar) Photo courtesy of Warm Cookies of the Revolution.

Aug. 19

ElevAsian Night Market Fundraiser

Time: 4-10 p.m.

Location: Tivoli Turnhalle on Auraria Campus, 900 Auraria Pkwy., Denver.

Cost: $24.99 child access, $64.99 adult ages 13 and up general access, $129.99 ages 21 and up premium access.

e second annual ElevAsian Night Market Fundraiser will o er an opportunity to eat, drink and shop AAPI women-owned restaurants and businesses, as well as enjoy entertainment by AAPI women and AAPI women-led groups. is event is a fundraiser for Asian Girls Ignite, a nonpro t that exists to build a strong community of AAPI girls to celebrate their individual and collective power. More information/reservations: asiangirlsignite.org/elevasian

Photo courtesy of Jas K Productions.

More information/reservations: denver lm.org

“Bottoms” is the CinemaQ Film Festival’s opening night presentation. Image courtesy of Denver Film.

Sept. 2-3

Rocky Mountain Dreams

Time: Varies.

Location: Various venues at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Cost: Varies, see below.

e Rocky Mountain Dreams Pride Bands Conference will o er three public performances featuring about 350 musicians from Pride Bands Alliance organizations around the world. Denver’s Mile High Freedom Bands will be participating, and will be kicking o its 40th anniversary season. e concerts are: e Centennial Pep Band: 11 a.m. Sept. 2 at e Galleria at Denver Center for the Performing Arts, 1101 13th St. Free and no tickets required. e Fourteeners Jazz Band: 6 p.m. Sept. 2 at e Galleria at Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Free and no tickets required. e Longs Peak and Pikes Peak Symphonic Bands: is nale event will showcase musicians with the Pride Bands Alliance. 7 p.m. Sept. 3 at Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1385 Curtis St. Tickets begin at $25 according to axs.com.

More information/reservations: dreamers2023.org/publicevents

Logo courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Dreams website.