DAVID TAYLOR – Artistic Director, Ballet Technique Levels 5-8, Variations, Pas de Deux, Dance History and Adult Ballet
David Taylor has been professionally involved in the Colorado dance community for the past forty- two years.
He began choreographing in 1976 during the course of a twelve-year dance career, and since then has created over one hundred original works. In 1979, he founded the David Taylor Dance Theatre, for thirty-two years one of the Rocky Mountain Region’s most well known and respected dance organizations, and Denver’s original contemporary ballet company.
As the principal choreographer for 27 years, Mr. Taylor’s unique creative focal point became a fascination with the ritual of ancient cultures, metaphysical concepts, and multi-media collaborations which served to put DTDT on the map nationwide as a company to watch. He received the City and County of Denver’s first Individual Artist Fellowship Award for Dance in 1987, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1997, and The Carson-Brierly Dance Library’s “Living Legends of Dance” Award in 2006.
A recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts grants, his productions of “The Nutcracker” and “Rainforest” have been presented throughout the United States and he has also been commissioned to stage ballets for the Dayton Ballet in Ohio, the Lone Star Ballet in Amarillo, Texas, the Canyon Concert Ballet in Fort Collins and for the Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet.
Besides serving as the School Director for Denver Ballet Theatre, Mr. Taylor's other responsibilities at DBT include teaching upper level ballet technique, pointe and variations classes, adult classes, pas de deux and Dance History. He also conducts workshops on sacred dance for various statewide and national organizations and continues to be in demand as a Summer Intensive guest teacher for ballet programs throughout Colorado.
Mr. Taylor founded his new company, the Zikr Dance Ensemble, in the summer of 2009. The company’s roster includes some of the finest ballet-trained dancers from along the Front Range. The company has received consistent critical acclaim and standing ovations over the past four years through performances in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Parker, Carbondale, Grand Junction, Pagosa Springs, Ouray, Ridgway, Niwot, Salida, Alamosa and Crested Butte as well as in St. Paul, MN and Los Angeles.
He began choreographing in 1976 during the course of a twelve-year dance career, and since then has created over one hundred original works. In 1979, he founded the David Taylor Dance Theatre, for thirty-two years one of the Rocky Mountain Region’s most well known and respected dance organizations, and Denver’s original contemporary ballet company.
As the principal choreographer for 27 years, Mr. Taylor’s unique creative focal point became a fascination with the ritual of ancient cultures, metaphysical concepts, and multi-media collaborations which served to put DTDT on the map nationwide as a company to watch. He received the City and County of Denver’s first Individual Artist Fellowship Award for Dance in 1987, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 1997, and The Carson-Brierly Dance Library’s “Living Legends of Dance” Award in 2006.
A recipient of three National Endowment for the Arts grants, his productions of “The Nutcracker” and “Rainforest” have been presented throughout the United States and he has also been commissioned to stage ballets for the Dayton Ballet in Ohio, the Lone Star Ballet in Amarillo, Texas, the Canyon Concert Ballet in Fort Collins and for the Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet.
Besides serving as the School Director for Denver Ballet Theatre, Mr. Taylor's other responsibilities at DBT include teaching upper level ballet technique, pointe and variations classes, adult classes, pas de deux and Dance History. He also conducts workshops on sacred dance for various statewide and national organizations and continues to be in demand as a Summer Intensive guest teacher for ballet programs throughout Colorado.
Mr. Taylor founded his new company, the Zikr Dance Ensemble, in the summer of 2009. The company’s roster includes some of the finest ballet-trained dancers from along the Front Range. The company has received consistent critical acclaim and standing ovations over the past four years through performances in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Parker, Carbondale, Grand Junction, Pagosa Springs, Ouray, Ridgway, Niwot, Salida, Alamosa and Crested Butte as well as in St. Paul, MN and Los Angeles.