Night Out in Telluride

I moved to Telluride almost six years ago largely for its scenery, sunshine and sophistication.  I often say that the world comes to Telluride and am amazed by the number of renowned musicians, authors and movers and shakers from the film industry and other creative and scientific domains that consistently descend upon our little mountain town, often to perform or share their work in a small venue.  These people are drawn to the beauty and mystique of Telluride as much as the average ski bum is in awe over our plunging slopes and lively bars.  

Our world-class festivals bring in much of this talent, extraordinary happenings that take place for the most part from Memorial Day to Labor Day, attracting devotees and casual observers from near and far.  Thankfully Telluride’s special attractions are not just reserved for the summer months.  There’s plenty to take in here year-round, making it exceedingly difficult to remain idle in this remote mountain town, even in the dead of winter or the thick of off-season.  

Grooving to Grupo Fantasma at the Sheridan Opera House

Many of the events are, in fact, hosted by the big festivals.  Such was the case recently at the Sheridan Opera House, where the Telluride Jazz Festival put on their winter concert to a sell out crowd.  Anything the Telluride Jazz Festival does is of the highest quality, so my interest was naturally piqued when I learned that Grupo Fantasma, a ten-piece latin band, would be showcased this year.  Seeing such a sizzling ensemble of musicians jamming on the tiny stage of our historic opera house could not be missed.  (As one of Telluride’s landmark sites, this jewel box of a theater has featured illustrious performers such as Lillian Gish, Sarah Bernhardt and Jackson Browne in its more than one-hundred-year-old existence.)

Sheridan Opera House: A Telluride Treasure

Plus the stakes were raised for this evening out.  The truth is I had heard about this show from the folks at my salsa class.  Salsa as in dancing, not sauce making.  I hadn’t taken a dance class since I was seven years old but in recent years I became increasingly consumed with the idea of signing up for lessons with a most willing partner.  (My days of dancing the alley cat in a fouffy party dress at the Country Club must have indeed marked me.   Or was it the yummy ice cream sundae that followed each session that had me hooked?)  

The Ah-haa School, one of Telluride’s fine assets, is a stronghold of learning and fun that offers a great variety of courses from silkscreening to yes, salsa dancing.  Why I started out with one of the most challenging dances known to man I do not know.  I had found my perfect partner in Steve (see Night Out in Telluride Mountain Village posting), so of course I thought if there’s a will there’s a way and surely we’d be dancing like two passionate latin lovers in no time.  Come again?  We moved clumsily through our various moves with about as much heat as two gringos doing the macarena at an Italian wedding reception.  But still we persevered.  This must be some kind of a test of our relationship, I thought to myself numerous times.  Up until then we enjoyed an amazingly harmonious existence (excepting the times he’d blow me off on powder days).   Now it seemed ridiculous to subject ourselves to consternation such as what step to take when. 

Attending Grupo Fantasma was to be a coming out party of sorts for our salsa class.  Sure our teacher, the lovely Debbie Reynolds (most aptly named!), was to be there but she would not be calling out quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow to us the way she lead us through each move in class.  

The Vault Room at La Coçina de Luz

Many of us gathered at La Cocina de Luz, a favorite locals’ restaurant, for dinner before the show.  We enjoyed our own special enclave within the Vault Room where we ate chips and salsa, sipped margaritas, savored mexican food lovingly prepared from the finest ingredients and swapped stories about who we really were beneath our dancing personas and where we hoped to go with our newly acquired hobby.  (I liked the idea of some of us going on a latin dance cruise the best!)

We pulled ourselves away from this colorful and lively establishment and braved the short, brisk walk down the street to the Opera House.  Grupo Fantasma did indeed turn the chilly night into a hot, sweaty happening fueled by a couple more drinks but most of all our earnest desire to dance the night away with real passion and minimal stepping on each other’s feet.  Steve almost gave up on us, lamenting that we couldn’t follow the beat and that I kept attempting to lead.  

Then suddenly we clicked.  We were dancing the salsa.  I looked around and realized that the only people that did anything other than hippie dancing were those from our little salsa class.  We felt truly initiated into the exciting world of latin dancing (even though I’m sure we looked like total white folk).  We signed up for another series of classes.  We talked about taking a trip to Vegas where there’s no shortage of salsa.  We dreamed about breaking out into a sensuous salsa some day in South America like two dark haired latin lovers on a spotlighted stage.  I started tuning in to “Dancing with the Stars” to check out the moves on the salsa dances.  We started to feel more and more latino with every class.

“Jazz Festival will be here soon enough,” I mentioned to Steve.  “Maybe there will even be a latin act on the town park stage or at the opera house,” I added, hinting at the opportunity to dance more to some great live music.

“We better get practicing then,” he replied with a hint of a smile on his curled up mouth.

“I’ll check the salsa CDs out of the library.  You’d better start polishing your shoes.”

Soup, Salad and Lots of Salsa in T-ride

Sheridan Opera House, 970-728-6363, www.sheridanoperahouse.com

Telluride Jazz Festival, 970-728-7009, www.telluridejazz.org

Ah-Haa School, 970-728-3886, www.ahhaa.org

La Coçina de Luz, 970-728-9355, www.lacocinatelluride.com

More Favorite Telluride Restaurants

New Sheridan Chop House, 800-200-1891 and 970-728-4351, www.newsheridan.com

Cosmo, 970-728-1292, www.cosmotelluride.com

Rustico, 970-728-4026, www.rusticoristorante.com

La Marmotte, 970-728-6263, www.lamarmotte.com

Thank you to Ron Semrod for the interior photo of the Sheridan Opera House.