CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE

Denver

News: When George Sparks, president/CEO of Denver Museum of Nature & Science, realized he and local dance legend Cleo Parker Robinson both were turning 75 this month – she on July 17 and he on July 25 – he thought it would be fun to have a joint celebration.

But not just any celebration. It would take place at the museum on July 19 and be a fundraiser for the $20 million, 25,000-square-foot expansion now underway at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance headquarters in Five Points.

There would be cocktails and corn dogs, Wagyu beef sliders and French fries. Birthday cake and a Champagne toast. A paddle raise called by sportscaster Vic Lombardi that netted $180,000. And, of course, dancing.

Sparks and his wife, Dr. Shandra Wilson, who have chaired and danced in CPRD’s signature fundraiser, Dancing With The Denver Stars, got the program off to a rousing start by dancing to John Travolta and Olivia Newton John’s “You’re the One That I Want.” Members of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble also performed and then joined Cleo, the Sparkses and a good portion of the 300 guests in a conga line that wound its way through the museum atrium.

Among the guests:

• State Sen. Rhonda Fields
• Former Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, who is now Denver Health’s chief executive officer
• Allegra “Happy” Haynes, who plans to retire Aug. 1 from her post as executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation
• Dr. Dwinita Mosby Tyler, founder of The Equity Project and a member of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance capital campaign committee
• Museum of Nature & Science board chair Hal Logan and his wife, Ann
• Celia Dietrich, executive chair and founder of Dietrich Partners who led the paddle raise with a $75,000 pledge to CPRD
• J.J. Ament, president/CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
• Lobbyist Josh Hanfling
• Roger Hutson, president/CEO of HRM Resources
• Lonnie Porter, founder of the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy, and his wife, Sunny
• Attorney Skip Netzorg and his wife, Jane, honorary chairmen for the 2023 edition of Dancing With The Denver Stars
• Sharon Knight, president/CEO of Hope Communities
• Christine Marquez-Hudson, vice president/university advancement at Metropolitan State University Denver and executive director of the MSU Denver Foundation
• Steve Katich, senior client solutions and government relations manager for JE Dunn Construction
• Andrea Fulton, deputy director of the Denver Art Museum

About the organization: Founded in 1970, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance is a nonprofit, multi-cultural performing arts organization with an internationally known troupe of dancers. Its mission is to introduce diverse communities to the art of dance.

Website: cleoparkerdance.org

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