Dairy Center for the Arts Offers Creative Entertainment

One of the best places to visit in Boulder if you like art, theatre and dance is the Dairy Center for the Arts. The Dairy Center for the Arts is a non-profit cultural arts organization founded in 1992 and one of the only places in Boulder to experience dramatic theater, comedy, live music, film, dance performances and visual arts under one roof. It is housed in the historic Watts-Hardy Dairy building, which once operated as a dairy storage and processing plant. The Dairy is home to fifteen premier resident arts organizations and offers high quality performing and visual arts experiences. Thousands of patrons participate in classes, workshops, exhibitions, films and dance, music, and theater performances each year.

The center hosts all kinds of shows throughout the year. For example, there’s Playback Theatre West, which is improvisational, “comicathartic” theatre based on using the audience’s stories to entertain, enrich and enlighten. There’s Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s presentation of Crime & Punishment, an award-winning adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s literary masterpiece is set in the mind of the murderer, where he relives and explores the events that drove him to his horrible crime. And if you like dance, check out the Boulder Ballet: Stepping Out 2011. This is Boulder Ballet’s annual contemporary concert which demonstrates the cutting edge of ballet technique and artistry through varied and imaginative choreography.

The center’s Resident Organizations are specifically designed for working with young people. Boulder Ballet, for example, connects with youth through performances and outreach at schools, festivals and special events. The Ballet partners with Boulder Philharmonic to present “The Nutcracker” each holiday season. Students perform in a number of events including the Annual Student Choreographers Showcase, the End of Year Showcase, and others.

The CenterStage Theatre Company offers three to four productions each year, and approximately 300 children participate in theater productions, camps or the summer choral program.

Imagination Makers Theater Company is an adult theater company that performs for children in the Denver-Boulder area. The company performs at 175 or more schools each year. Productions explore complicated issues such as homelessness and hunger.

These are just a few of the Dairy Center’s outreach programs. Art exhibits at The Dairy Center range from professional, accomplished artists working in all types of media from clay to oil to sculpture and found objects to student exhibits.

The Dairy Center can also be rented for special events, and offers spaces that will accommodate anywhere from 85 to 250 people in a beautiful, historic yet modern setting.