David Taylor, Artistic Director 
History and Vision
The Zikr Dance Ensemble offers a spectrum of works that are based on transcendent dance rituals from many different ancient world cultures throughout history along withoriginal and contemporary dance/theatre realizations. The company‘s purpose is to offer performance experiences of spiritual atonement for both participants and audiences alike which are both theatrically engaging and educational and which also promote multi-cultural respect, diversity and tolerance. The Zikr Dance Ensemble aims to preserve the sheer beauty of the historic dances, and along with the presentation of original and contemporary works, seeks to enhance the appreciation for the unity of the human spirit and provide a unique artistic experience of the many ways that diverse spiritual and cultural traditions express creativity and wonder through dance.
The company’s singular artistic focus makes it totally unique among professional dance companies in the United States, and its relatively small size and flexibility and adaptability regarding performing spaces makes it an ideal fit for not only major presenters, but also for college dance departments, museums, churches and other smaller or unusual venues.
The dances in performance are supplemented stunning slide projections and visual effects, completing a multi-media experience that audiences and presenters alike have found to be both visually and artistically stimulating as well as intellectually captivating.
The Zikr Dance Ensemble not only preserves rare and ancient ritualistic and sacred dance expressions from numerous and varied cultures from across the centuries and from around the world, but the company also provides an experience that relates and connects to numerous organizations dedicated to both promoting spiritual tolerance and multi-cultural understanding for the entire community.
The Zikr Dance Ensemble’s outstanding company members are some of the finest ballet-trained professionals in the state and include dancers from the Colorado Ballet, the David Taylor Dance Theatre, Ballet Ariel and other professional Colorado dance organizations. The company provides full, evening-length or mini-performances, and a half or full-week residency can also include Dance History power point, dvd and lecture presentations on Sacred Dance, and Sacred Dance and Ballet master classes and workshops.
David Taylor, formerly the founder, Artistic Director and principal choreographer for the David Taylor Dance Theatre for 27 years, retired from the full-time directorship of DTDT in 2006. In his position of Artistic Director Emeritus, Mr. Taylor continues to work with the company teaching company class, as a rehearsal assistant, and on occasion, setting new works and helping restage repertoire. Currently a faculty member and dance history professor at the Dance Department at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado Mr. Taylor also serves as a guest master teacher of ballet technique, pas de deux, variations, pointe and sacred dance for numerous ballet schools, companies and other organizations along Colorado’s front range. He founded the Zikr Dance Ensemble in the summer of 2009 and the new company has already performed to raves reviews in Denver, Carbondale, Boulder, Fort Collins and Grand Junction, CO and in St. Paul, MN and Los Angeles.