The last dance
Durango High School bids its dance genie farewell

Patricia Ratliff, choreographer for the Durango High School performance of “Once Upon a Wish”. Ratliff has been the driving force behind dance at Durango High in the school’s award-winning drama program for the last 15 years. She will be retiring in June and “Wish” is the final concert in her remarkable career./Photo by David Halterman

by Judith Reynolds

When Patricia Ratliff watches a run of “Once Upon a Wish,” there’s a palpable sense of delight on her face.

Ratliff has been the driving force behind dance at Durango High in the school’s award-winning drama program for the last 15 years. She’s retiring in June, and “Wish” is the final concert in her remarkable career. The dance concert opens this weekend and runs in tandem with “Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” through May 12.

“This is Patty’s last show,” said Mona Wood-Patterson, program director. “We’ll miss her, but I’m thrilled for her, too. Patty has taught for 40 years; she joined us in 1992. Her work, as you know, has been amazing.”

Amazing, indeed. Ratliff has choreographed shows from “The Hobbit” to “Peter Pan” and overseen hundreds of students, many with no dance training or experience.

Born in Newton, Miss., Ratliff grew up in Illinois. At an early age she demonstrated a passion for dance which has continued throughout her life.

“I began dance lessons at 6,” she said in an interview last week, “ballet, acrobatics, tap, and eventually pantomime and ballroom dancing.”

At her high school in Illinois, New Trier High School, which is known for its progressive educational programs, Ratliff added modern dance to her repertoire. “It was in high school,” she said, “that I developed a real love for theater.”

In one of many candid moments, Ratliff said she recognized early on that she didn’t have the aggressive temperament needed for a professional career.

“I knew I didn’t have what it takes,” she said. “It’s highly competitive. You have to constantly promote yourself and in the process cut others down. That wasn’t for me.”

Still, she wanted a life in dance. Her other major talent, mathematics, proved to be an unexpected link. She sought a college the could offer a double major – in dance and math – in order to teach and continue dancing. She found what looked perfect at Texas Christian University. “It turned out, however, not to be a good fit,” she said.

So, Ratliff transferred to West Virginia where she majored in math and “got involved with the Charleston Light Opera. I hooked up with a choreographer who did all the dances for the musicals. I found myself teaching adults ballet and jazz.”

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Ratliff focused her energy at the Light Opera where she choreographed several productions including “Gypsy,”

“Chicago” and “Man of La Mancha.” She also married and gave birth to her son, Joshua, now 27.

“I danced until I was seven months pregnant,” she said.

When Ratliff moved West in 1981, she started teaching high school math and founded the Durango High School Dance Co. “There wasn’t a lot of dance in Durango then,” she said. “We did our best on very little. After school I taught classes in ballet and jazz in the math classroom, and we put on four shows.”

In the late ’80s, when the school district made significant cutbacks, Ratliff was transferred to Miller Middle School and continued teaching math: “My life took a different track then,” she said, and the following years held little dance for her.

In 1990, Ratliff returned to the high school, and two years later Wood-Patterson arrived. When Wood-Patterson started to build the drama program, there was a sea change at the school, Ratliff said. Wood-Patterson, known for her leadership abilities, recruited a creative team that transformed drama at the high school. She energized students, faculty, volunteers and patrons alike.

Durango High School students Jessica Hagemeister and Justin Riegel dance to the number “Witchcraft,” which features music by Frank Sinatra, during a dress rehearsal earlier this week./Photo by David Halterman

In 1990, Ratliff returned to the high school, and two years later Wood-Patterson arrived. When Wood-Patterson started to build the drama program, there was a sea change at the school, Ratliff said. Wood-Patterson, known for her leadership abilities, recruited a creative team that transformed drama at the high school. She energized students, faculty, volunteers and patrons alike.

Recognizing the talent that surrounded her, Wood-Patterson asked Ratliff, then Patricia Myres, to choreograph “Anything Goes,” Ratliff said. “And I think we’ve been a successful team ever since.”

With Wood-Patterson’s encouragement, Ratliff also began creating dance shows. Each had a theme and dramatic elements to knit the whole together.

“In 1999, for example, we did ‘American Rhapsody,’” Ratliff said. “I brought the students in early to plan. I remember them saying: ‘Let’s do something serious,’ so we looked at how people viewed the American dream. We looked behind it, through the cracks, at problems like domestic violence, competition, drugs. I brought in music by American composers; the students wrote the dramatic pieces and did much of the choreography. It was harsh with a little hope at the end,” Ratliff said. “It may have been too serious for Durango audiences.”

This year “Once Upon a Wish” breaks with tradition again, Ratliff said. “It’s an all-dance show – no dramatic pieces, just dance.”

True to her working procedure, Ratliff’s students have created much of the concert. Only three of the 15 numbers have been choreographed by Ratliff, the rest have been conceived and developed by students.

“There’s no way I could do this all by myself anyway,” Ratliff said. “And what great experience for the students.”

Each dance is only two or three minutes long, she added. “And I didn’t plan this, but we have 19 kids, nine boys and 10 girls – just unbelievable.”

“Make a magical wish” is the theme; the dance styles range from the Fox Trot to hip hop and break dancing. “I can’t do hip hop,” Ratliff said, “or break dancing, so guest what? The kids love it, can do it, and can choreograph it.”

“Magic to Do,” from the musical “Pippin” opens the dance concert with the full ensemble. “Actually, there will be more than our 19 dancers on stage,” Ratliff said. “I wanted 100 students, so we’ll have kids from the ‘Aladdin’ cast and some tech kids, too.”

While there are no purely dramatic scenes, Ratliff said, some dances will have a distinct narrative. For example: “Whatever Lola Wants,” from “Damn Yankees,” has two guys (Devin Newbold and Landon Newton) fighting over a woman (Tasha Farley). Choreographer Newbold has created a remarkably sophisticated piece with smiles, seduction, interesting two- and threesomes plus some saucy taunting. “Stomptime Rag” is playful, and “Razzle Dazzle,” from “Chicago” is all Bob Fosse style, choreographed by Becca Thurston – “long arms and legs,” Ratliff said, rubber spines and black fringe.

John Lennon’s “Imagine” features two dancers who gracefully partner while another solos in complex, layered choreography.

In all her years at Durango High, Ratliff said, she’s learned that students can be the driving force for getting things done. And she learned that the hard way. In June of 1996, Ratliff was in a serious auto accident. For more than a week, she was in a coma and had multiple fractures and breaks. Among several dire predictions, Ratliff said, she was told she would never use her right hand again. Transferred from Albuquerque to a hospital in Grand Junction, she remained hospitalized through August and then recovered slowly at her parents’ home in Ouray well into November.

“The students sent letters and called,” she said. And although she missed her goal of returning to teach by November, Ratliff said with the gracious help of then-principal Cheryl Allen, she came back one class at a time. Each one a miracle of sorts.

“I still get dizzy,” she said, “and I don’t dance anymore. But I’ve learned I don’t have to do the dances to teach them. Plus, for a few years I’ve had student assistants who can do the dances. There is no shame in being dependant on someone else. That’s part of the team aspect. We aren’t in a competition. We’re here to help and encourage each other.”

For two years in a row, Ratliff has been named most caring teacher at the school. And in the audience this week will be Ratliff’s new husband of a year, Stephen, as well as Ratliff’s parents, Roger and Angie Henn, all from Ouray.

“My parents have been to all my high school performances since 1960,” Ratliff said. “That’s another miracle.” •