Choreographer Jiri Kylián's Stamping Ground is the centerpiece of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's performance today. The 1983 work explores the Aboriginal culture, and like most of the works in the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet repertoire, it makes good use of the dancers' classical training while remaining firmly in the contemporary dance realm. The piece starts off in silence, but soon Carlos Chávez's percussive ''Tocata para instrumentos de percusión'' starts. The dancers form different groups, with a single male dancer here, two women there, then a group of three men. At one point they make a line and move like a push-pull toy (a frequent Kylián device). At another, three dancers become a metronome, with two men rhythmically swinging a woman between them. A shimmering curtain runs along the back of the stage, through which the dancers, clad in simple black leotards or trunks, appear and disappear. Last by Alejandro Cerrudo and Over Glow by Jorma Elo are also on the program.
Sat., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., 2012