By Tanya Ishikawa

Cleo Parker Robinson and friends are planning an emotional journey across continents and through time. Her dance ensemble’s spring concert, “Steppin’ to a New Day,” is an exuberant mix of dance styles from African to Cha Cha, accentuated by a multi-talented assemblage of seasoned and emerging artists.

The performance features one restaged, one expanded and two brand new works at the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver on May 18, 25, 26 and 27. Robinson aims to deepen cultural understanding, connect generations and uplift the audience.

“We’re feeling after 37 years, it’s a rebirth. I’m really excited because of that. There’s new energy, new life, new people, new dancers. It’s a new day in that way,” Robinson said of the company’s 37th season. “I want to bridge the gap between generations, even between cultures. Take the culture of hip-hop and the culture of modern dance, and bridge the gap so we’re kickin’ it together.”

One of the new works, “Sankofa,” is an epic journey choreographed by Robinson. A West African word in the Akan language, Sankofa represents the idea of returning to learn from one’s roots so we can move forward. The dance, in several acts, is a large collaboration in the spirit of “Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum,” but with a new 21st century springtime groove.

“It will remind people that we are all from somewhere and we can’t forget about it,” said Koffi Toudji, the company’s drummer and African dance and drumming teacher. A West African from Togo, Toudji is helping compose the African rhythms behind the piece and leading the dancers in songs in his native language of Ewe.

Robinson’s supporting cast for this multilayered piece includes company founder and poet Schyrleen Qualls, who now lives in San Francisco. Also taking the stage are Robert Nardozza, Dancesport co-owner and ballroom champion trainer; Denver vocalist Sheryl Renee; Denver School of the Arts poet and dancer Shane “Tega” Franklin; break-dancer Fate; and steppers from local organizations.

Vernon Gooden, a lead dancer in Sankofa in his second season with the company, choreographed the concert’s other new work, “Up Against the Wall.”

“My inspiration is how, as a society, there is a feeling of being up against a wall, whether it is political or religious,” described Gooden, who previously danced with the Houston Ballet and the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company.

Gooden illustrates this feeling by placing four female and two male dancers on a raw, naked stage, representing “the world as an open field,” dominated by a large, imposing wall. They contort their bodies awkwardly, and continually find themselves stuck uncomfortably on the wall. The piece ties in relief from worldly oppression, through the use of a pail of water representing a place where dancers can find replenishing peace and understanding. It concludes with free movements as they release themselves from their barriers, truly letting go.

“It’s my approach to the world today,” Gooden noted. “I felt I was in a box, and the walls were closing in. Now, we feel like we’re in a box with the war and other situations. I found my poem and realized that what I was feeling at that time is true for others today.”

“Continuum II,” an expanded version of a dance premiered in last year’s Isis Rising concert, is also inspired by contemplation of life’s struggles and finding the motivation to go forward.

“In our life, things that happen to us that make us stop, pause and think. We are always stopping in our tracks or going in other directions, but you do continue to live,” commented choreographer Vikki Baltimore-Dale. “Sometimes in life, something stops you, but if you want to live, ultimately you have to move on.”

Dale is a University of Nevada dance professor and nationally recognized dancer on stage, in motion pictures and at casinos. Also an international choreographer and friend of Robinson’s since the mid-1990s, she was asked to choreograph Continuum for the company last year.

The piece is set to the world beat of James Asher’s music with percussion and dijeridoo. The dance flows with continual movement punctuated by constant shifts in direction, reminiscent of the fluid scene on the ocean floor as seen by a snorkeler.

Describing the changes to the choreography and addition of women, Dale said, “Before it was just kind of moving and dancing with a subtext about the moving and the movement, but now there’s a little bit more relating happening and that makes it more of a continuum.”

“Ebony Magazine to a Village” is another work, choreographed by an internationally-renown colleague of Robinson’s. Ronald K. Brown, the choreographer for the Brooklyn-based Evidence Dance Company, created the piece for Robinson’s dance company in 1996.

Robinson described Brown as “a young choreographer coming of the next generation, who looks to the elders and yet really tries to make a statement about where African-American culture is, as well as the whole culture.”

Randy Brooks and Rachael Ashley, who both experienced the piece while dancing for Robinson, are authentically restaging thedance. Brooks, who was with the company for 15 years, is a Pilates instructor in Cherry Creek, while Ashley, who danced with the company for five years, teaches dance around Denver and recently toured nationally with the Imani Winds quintet.

“'Ebony Magazine to a Village' is based on how we as people tend to go to TV and magazines to figure out how we should dress and look. It’s kind of a look at how we use the media to identify ourselves rather than just say this is how I am,” Brooks said.

Dancers create different scenes from everyday life, such as a woman having her purse snatched or a kid throwing a tantrum in a store, to explore movement and how people move through society. Relationships and rights of passage are also depicted through older soldiers preparing younger warriors, sisters sharing with sisters, and mothers helping daughters, concluding with the village coming together to an African beat.

Brooks said, “We’ve walked the path that these young dancers are going through right now. It’s our responsibility as leaders to teach them.”

Editor’s note: “Steppin’ to A New Day” will be performed at the Gates Concert Hall in the Newman Center for Performing Arts at the University of Denver on Friday, May 18, Friday, May 25, Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27. All tickets are general admission. For tickets or more information, call 303-871-7720, 303-295-1759 ext. 20 or 303-357-2787.