March is Women’s History Month, when we commemorate and celebrate the vital role of women in American history. The Tread of Pioneers Museum honors local women who significantly contributed to our community’s cultural history and heritage. 

For this year, at 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 18, the Tread of Pioneers Museum and Opera Steamboat will proudly present, “The Women of Perry-Mansfield.” This intimate evening at the museum will include:

• Living history performances featuring Charlotte Perry, Portia Mansfield, Marjorie Perry and Eleanor Bliss.  

• A sampling of musical performances from the upcoming Opera Steamboat world premiere, “Welcome to the Madness” (August 2024).

• A presentation by Dagny McKinley, author of the book “Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp: A History of Art in Nature.”

• Hot happy-hour drinks, including Baileys and coffee, hot chocolate and hot apple pie.

The event is free, and no RSVP or tickets are required. 

Two standouts in our local history are Charlotte Perry and Portia Mansfield. Among their many impacts in the arts and culture realm, Charlotte and Portia are the founders of the world-renowned performing arts camp, Perry-Mansfield. These “Renaissance women” were trailblazers of 20th-century dance and theater from Colorado to New York, California and beyond. 

Portia Mansfield was a dancer, teacher, horsewoman, author, explorer, anthropologist and pioneer of documentary filmmaking. She also developed a series of exercises for dancers that became a precursor to physical therapy. 

While Portia moved from one interest to the next, Charlotte was steadfast in her love of theater. She was one of Colorado’s great directors and drama coaches. After studying under the great Lee Strasberg, she was instrumental in developing young actors who later became famous. She was also an innovator of children’s theater as a teacher, playwright and producer. 

The women met at Smith College, where one summer they accompanied Charlotte’s father on a bear hunting expedition in Northwest Colorado. There they fell in love with the outdoors and the mountains and curated the idea to start a summer dance camp. This school of dance would unite all that they treasured — beauty, creativity, the wilderness and more. Their core belief was, “Creative practice through art and nature manifests in an insightful, compassionate and courageous life.”

Camp opened in 1913 in Eldora, Colorado, before moving to Strawberry Park in Steamboat Springs in 1915. Starting with army tents and the help of local miners, the two women eventually built the main lodge and cabins. Throughout the years, they added new buildings, including a theater, to accommodate the growing number of students.

Over the decades, the camp evolved and pivoted to the times. For instance, in the 1920s, the Portia Mansfield Dancers became the springboard for a dance company that toured extensively throughout the country’s vaudeville circuits. In the 1930s, the camp was a focal point for the American modern dance movement and became known as a haven for creativity.

The women’s perseverance made Steamboat Springs a hub for collaboration, innovation and cross-cultural learning. Perry-Mansfield was one of the only organizations in the country to offer ballet and modern dance classes when contemporary dancers struggled to find studio space because so many Americans viewed modern dance as immoral. 

Over the years, Charlotte and Portia welcomed instructors and inspiration from around the world, and many famous artists and performers have graced Perry-Mansfield’s studios, including Dustin Hoffman, Agnes De Mille, José Limon, Merce Cunningham, Julie Harris, John Cage, Lee Remick, Jessica Biel, Corey Hawkins and many more.

Today, national and international students take classes from a premier group of accomplished faculty. Emerging artists study dance, theater, music, equestrian, visual art, creative writing and more. The tradition and reputation established over a century at Perry-Mansfield continues to lead the camp and its students to greatness. What began as two young women’s dreams created a foundational organization for Routt County and the nation’s cultural heritage.

Candice Bannister is executive director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum. For more, go to TreadOfPioneers.org. Sources: Perry-Mansfield archives. Special thanks to author/historian Dagny McKinley.