Cleo Parker Robinson Dance presents Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum with Margarita Taylor as Granny and exciting new music by Mark Caldwell.

Granny’s memories are her gifts to those she loves, but she has forgotten many of her stories and the magical dances she’s seen in her lifetime. In her youth she danced in festivals honoring the birth of Christ, the African Harvest, the Native American Winter Solstice, the Celtic Yule Time, Las Posadas in Mexico, the ancient Hebrew Festival of Lights, Chinese New Year and Junkanoo in the Caribbean. Now Granny seeks to retrieve these memories. Through dance, live music, and spoken word, she relives her experiences of the world’s diverse holiday celebrations.

Margarita Taylor (Granny) began dancing in her birthplace, Port-of-Spain Trinidad, under the direction of the late Astor Johnson. Upon moving to New York, she studied with Lenny Williams, Rom Pratt, Lyn Simmonson, Phil Black, John Hatchett of The Broadway Dance Center, as well as the Jeffory Ballet, and the Jeannett Neil Dance School of Boston. She danced with the Mafata Dance Company of New York, the Impulse Dance Company of Boston, and ensemble roles in Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, and The Wizard of Oz with the Wheelock Family Theatre.  She graduated from Wheelock with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and while there directed such productions as Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls who have considered suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf and Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias.  She has danced many roles with a myriad of companies, including that of village woman in Derek Walcott’s Steel, and the Denver Brass production of Jump kn da Line.  She has also been a dance teacher in after-school programs for the Denver Public School system, for Children’s Creative Movement and Adult Modern classes at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance.  She served as Children’s Rehearsal Director for Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum from 2004 to 2007. This is Taylor’s fifth season with the show and her first to perform in the role of Granny. 

Now in his 10th year with Granny and his third year as the Musical Director, Mark Caldwell has been busy writing and composing lots of new music for this year’s production. He performs throughout Colorado with the Healing Force Band (Reggae, African), Body and Soul (Jazz), Vince Johnson Project (R&B), and Freddie Zawee (Ivory Coast Reggae). Caldwell also teaches guitar, mandolin, and general music at The Denver Folklore Center, Swallow Hill Music Association and Music Go Round.

Cleo Parker Robinson, acclaimed dancer and choreographer, has assembled a stellar cast and production team, showcasing some of Denver’s finest professional actors and musicians, as well as students of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School. Cleo will once again perform in the role of Granny’s guardian angle, Shakti, and Marceline Freeman returns as Granny’s granny.

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD) is now celebrating its 38th year of serving the needs of the community. Founded with the belief that the language of dance transcends the boundaries of culture, class and age, this institution is committed to bringing dance into the lives of diverse people. CPRD, a 501 (c) (3) multi-cultural performing arts organization, is composed of a professional modern dance ensemble, year-round dance school, 300 hundred seat theatre, in-school lecture demonstration series, international summer dance institute and outreach program for at-risk youth.

Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum opens Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. through December 21 at the Byron Theatre of the University of Denver’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $38 for adults, $33 for seniors (62+) and students, and $25 for children 12 and under. For tickets, call 303-871-7720, Ticketmaster at 303-357-ARTS (2787) or order online at ticketmaster.com. For groups sales of 8 or more, call 303-295-1759 x13.