A tutu and pointe shoes are expected at a ballet performance, but cowboy boots and chaps? Yippee-ki-yay-no.

A rodeo and a ballet seem like mismatched dancing partners, but not to the famous American dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille, who costumed herself and her dancers in Western gear in composer Aaron Copland’s iconic 1942 ballet, “Rodeo,” pronounced ro-day-o.

And now Colorado Ballet Society will give it a Colorado Springs Western heritage spin in the new “A Colorado Rodeo,” with live music by Chamber Orchestra of the Springs. The evening also will feature Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,” a famous ballet choreographed by Martha Graham, and reimagined by a former CBS instructor in 2018. It’s Thursday at Pikes Peak Center.

CBS, a dance school, is no stranger to putting a local spin on a classic ballet.

“That’s what we love doing with ‘A Colorado Nutcracker’ — connecting local history to ‘The Nutcracker,'” said CBS Artistic Director Kate Walsh. “We wanted to do the same thing with this ballet. It’s not your typical ballet.”

The original story

“Rodeo” takes place on Burnt Ranch in the Southwest, where a young cowgirl, played by de Mille, competes with city girls for the attention of the cowboys, particularly the head wrangler, by making a fool of herself riding a bucking bronco and getting thrown. After exchanging her cowboy gear for a dress, she attends a hoedown and walks away with not the head wrangler, but a sweet and kind cowboy.

The Colorado Springs version

Walsh immersed herself in the Western history of the Pikes Peak region to create a new storyline. She visited the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, where she saw the costume worn by the first “Girl of the West,” a young woman who helps promote the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo and other Western events.

It inspired her main character, Jessi, a Girl of the West who dreams of becoming a rodeo queen. She meets a bronc rider named Champ, falls in love, but refuses to give up her dream.

It was a little tricky creating the storyline, Walsh says, as “Rodeo” had 15 dancers, most of them male. CBS consists of 130 kids, primarily female. Dancers ages 8 to 18 from the pre-professional division will perform in “Rodeo.” Dancers ages 9 to 18 in the Connexus Dance Collective will perform in “Appalachian Spring.”

“The story is about dreams, love and Western heritage,” Walsh said. “The Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo has a huge history here, and Spencer Penrose brought the rodeo back to the Springs in 1949 after the Great Depression and war. That’s the year it takes place.”

Boot-scootin’ boogie?

Expect all of the following in the new ballet: rodeo clowns, barrel racers, Pikes Peak Range Riders Pivots and Pikes Peak Range Riders Rangerettes.

“A lot of the movement mimics how a horse moves or riding a horse. There’s also line dancing and square dancing,” Walsh said. “The music was this huge inspiration. I based it on classical ballet, but it’s more modernized.”

Why do we love Copland’s music so much?

“It connects you to America,” Walsh said. “He’s an American composer, and he composed a lot of works during wartime. It brought joy and life to people in hard times. Now we’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. It’s a great time to showcase his American music.”

Nostalgic nugget

Copland’s piece, “Hoe Down,” from “Rodeo” was used in the early 1990s TV commercial by the National Livestock and Meat Board. Its slogan: “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”

Genesis of the show

It’s all thanks to John Varady, the grandfather of a former CBS student and a lover of “Rodeo.” He wanted to see his granddaughter dance in the ballet and pitched the idea to Walsh, promising to financially support the production.

Due to copyright laws, only professional companies could perform the original de Mille choreography, not dance schools. So Walsh came up with a Pikes Peak region-inspired production with new choreography, costumes and hand-painted sets from India.

Varady, who approved the idea, asked for a few things to be included: live music and the use of Arthur Chapman’s poem, “Out Where the West Begins,” and Albert Bierstadt’s painting, “Covered Wagons.”

Unfortunately, he got sick and died in 2024, before the new ballet came to fruition, though he continued to financially support the work even while knowing he wouldn’t be able to see it. His granddaughter and family moved to Virginia last year, and though she won’t be dancing in the ballet, she’ll be in the audience.

If you go

What: “A Colorado Rodeo” and “Appalachian Spring,” by Colorado Ballet Society, with Chamber Orchestra of the Springs

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.

Price: $30-$53; pikespeakcenter.com, axs.com, danceinthesprings.com