- Now to a dance project
that's all about cultural connections.
Colorado Ballet partnered with Keya Trujillo Clairmont,
a Lakota dancer and 2016 Denver March Powwow Princess,
to develop and perform an original piece.
- This collaboration received the Imagine 2020 award
at the recent Denver Mayor's
Awards for Excellence in Arts and Culture celebration.
It's an honor given to a project that exemplifies
the vision and goals of the City of Denver's Cultural Plan.
Through our new community partnership
with Denver Arts and Venues we are thrilled
to share this powerful story with you.
- I remember when she came for first time in the studio
and then danced in the front of us,
it was something unique and unusual.
You can see her passion through the dance.
She's flowing, spinning around, and it looks like
there is nothing to do, we can do it,
but when the girls start to do it, it was hard!
- It's just natural.
It's so effortless, it's just embedded in me.
I can't really explain it any other way,
because I've been doing it since I could walk.
Ever since my parents introduced me to the Circle,
which is powwows, that's just tradition in our culture.
- It's out of the realm of what we do here,
day in and day out, so when I approached them
and introduced Keya and what was going to happen,
it's a feeling out process between the two
and after two days you could tell
that this was just gonna blend nicely.
- Everyone came from different background
and then different culture but again,
the dance can bring them together in same time,
in same piece and also to feel it by your heart and soul
that it's something very important going on.
- I told them, this isn't something
you have to be perfect on,
this is something you have to feel,
this is something you have to listen to the song,
even though you may not know what it means,
even though it's very, very foreign to you,
as long as you feel like that drum beat
and you hear the melody of that certain song,
you're doing it right.
You're just one rhythm, that's how we are as people.
We all have the same heartbeat.
- Our audience had never seen anything like this
and I was so happy to put that in front of them,
and the reception, between the choreography
and her singers, oh my god,
people were stunned, blown away by it.
- To perform in the front of hundreds audience,
it was so unique, I think it's for first time
in history of dance that was happen.
(energetic Lakota music)
- I think as a artist you're supposed to
inspire other people.
I feel like as a native woman who is
often time misrepresented,
it's my job to bring up issues that aren't brought up,
and this is a way to do it.
So, if it's just this one group of girls
that I can change a perspective about
who we are as people then, I feel like I've done my job.
- If you don't take artists such as Keya
and put them in front of our artists,
they're not gonna grow.
We need to constantly reinvigorate the art form
and these dancers and give them
many different opportunities at artistic development.
- It doesn't matter what kind of style,
what type of dance you perform,
it's more about to show what's going on as a person
inside of yourself and to show, through the dance.
I think people will appreciate that,
and they will understand, so it's celebration of life.
- I got amazing feedback I didn't think I'd get
from videos that were posted and
I wasn't expecting to get that.
I also knew subconsciously that
if it's gonna be done with respect,
then it's gonna be okay.
Of course, all my family, all my community here
helped me and kept pushing me to keep going with it.
- We were just very proud of the work,
and what Keya was able to accomplish with Colorado Ballet.
We were so proud of that and thought that
it would be recognized, and several people have
reached out to us and would love
to see more performances of it.
It's been awe inspiring.
It just means the world to us.
- I think the Colorado Ballet did a wonderful job with
just being respectful.
That's all that matters to native people is respect.
(pensive music)
- You can learn more about Denver's Imagine 2020 vision
and see stories from other recipients of
the Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and Culture
at artsandvenues.com.