VIP Gala Celebrates Cleo Parker Robinson Dance $25 Million Expansion

It’s a given that anything iconic, award-winning Cleo Parker Robinson takes on automatically sparkles with her magic touch. No surprise, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Center for the Healing Arts only adds to her legacy. The $25 million addition to Cleo Village is the result of a beautiful collaboration among supporters, staff, architects and builders, and all-important donors that turned a historic venue into a glorious functional space with respect to the past, present and future. The grand opening? So special it earned five days of public-invited participation Jan. 15-19, 2026, from free community activities and special master classes to the official Center ribbon-cutting and tours, ending up with encouraged participation in this year’s MLK Day Marade in Denver.

On Thursday, Jan. 15, donors and supporters—dressed to the nines—gathered at the new space to celebrate the Center’s grand opening at a gala filled with energy and optimism. The evening began with a short reception and entertainment from a Colorado Symphony Orchestra string quartet. CPRD President/CEO Malik Robinson talked to the group about the project with gratitude and led a champagne toast to the new venue.

Guests adjourned to the Center’s theater to settle in for captivating performances beginning with “The Love You Carry,” a lyrical solo danced by Cleo Parker Robinson, choreographed by Chris Page-Sanders. It was followed by excerpts from “Spiritual Suite,” choreographed by Cleo Parker Robinson, featuring CPRD principal and ensemble dancers. Each dance inspired a standing ovation and the final segment, “To My Father’s House,” was so spirited that the entire audience was standing, clapping along and probably contemplating their next church visit as dancers took their final bows. Cleo and Malik addressed the audience before everyone adjourned to the second level for dinner. The evening ended with a Club Jazz performance featuring Dianne Reeves, Billy Childs, Isaiah Collier and Tim Regis.

CPRD Center for the Healing Arts adds new studios and amenities to the organization’s historic Five Points location, creating a significant cultural hub for health, education and arts in Colorado. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance describes itself as “an international, performing arts and educational institution rooted in African American traditions, dedicated to excellence in providing cross-cultural instruction, performances and enrichment programs empowering all our communities by cultivating the healthy mind, body and spirit development for intergenerational students, artists and audiences.”

Since 1970, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance remains Denver’s global cultural and educational dance and performing arts anchor and its namesake was ABD co-founder and 2021 National Medal of Arts Recipient. CPRD is well known for its annual Dancing With the Denver Stars performance fundraiser. View upcoming events at https://cleoparkerdance.org/tickets.