Reconstituting joy: DanceAspen

When the pandemic shut down and ultimately ended Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s 25-year run, the dancers in the company were not only stranded without jobs in Aspen, Colorado (where the company was headquartered), they were left without dance.

“There were no other options for ballet dancers in Aspen. We had to leave in order to continue our careers or stay here and work different jobs,” says Laurel Winton, a former ASFB dancer. A few of the dancers went to New York, although few companies were hiring during lockdowns. Jonah Delgado was hired by BalletX in Philadelphia along with Pete Leo Walker, but Walker later returned to Aspen to join Joseph Watson in the Aspen police department. Seia Rassenti had a baby. Sadie Brown married and retired from dancing.

“No one really wants to give up dancing,” Winton says.