Things to Do in Aurora

After wowing audiences with her dance moves for more than 25 years, Rachelle Nemec—a former captain of the Denver Nuggets Dancers who has twirled across Las Vegas stages and several TV commercials—decided to ignite a passion for the arts in her community's children. At X-treme Dance Force, she helms an experienced crew of dance instructors who hail from such prestigious arts organizations as the Houston Grand Opera, Hawaii's Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre, and the Kim Robards Dance company. They teach kids of all abilities to perform a variety of dance styles that range from contemporary pointe and tap to hip-hop in classes divided by age. Their comprehensive instruction helps students master fundamental moves and confidently conquer turns, leaps, and shuffles for memorable touchdown celebrations.

The instructors further prepare kids for a career in the arts with drama and musical-theater training, and they host auditions for the studio's three dance companies, which whip advanced students into performance form. In addition to the studio's yearly dance competitions, these students show off their moves at instructional dance conventions, Denver Nuggets games, Colorado Christian University basketball games, and local fairs.

Standing as the community's curators since 1974, The Greenway Foundation unites seasoned sprinters and pavement-pounding families beneath the same charitable banner during the annual Live-Life-Smiling Mile High Mile race. Funds raised by the race will go to support the Greenway Foundation's SPREE program, which connects thousands of students to the reclamation of the South Platte River through hands-on school trips, weekend events, and summer camps. During the event, participants of all ages launch full throttle into the single-mile scamper, which loops around Sports Authority Field, dashes through the players' tunnel, and finishes with a charge onto the stadium's 50-yard line. After huffing, puffing, and receiving high-fives from impressed tackling dummies, runners bask in postrace accomplishment as prizes acknowledge the morning's swiftest times.

Diving for more than 30 years, Ron Busch—PADI master instructor and owner of Coral Key Scuba & Travel Center—first decided to share his passion for underwater exploration in 1995 by building a facility that catered to all facets of scuba and snorkeling. Since its construction, the center has been recognized as a PADI five-star training center that offers scuba and snorkeling classes, professional gear, and diving trips to far-off locales such as Isla Mujeres. An avid traveler, Busch entrusts day-to-day duties to the center's manager, a PADI master scuba diver and trainer, Randy Partch, who teaches 22 different diving specialties and boasts certification to repair and service many different brands of scuba equipment and one kind of Xerox machine. Factory-trained technicians populate the center's repair shop, mending, maintaining, and returning equipment back to owners with an average one-week turnaround.

Over the past 20 years, Denver Equestrians owner Corinne M. Lettau has been mastering proper horse training and horse communication while studying under elite professionals such as 1994 Olympic bronze medalist Michelle Gibson. At her 32,000-square-foot equestrian complex, Corinne and a team of talented instructors share their bond with horses by leading students through riding lessons, horsemanship classes, and rider assessments. On large indoor and outdoor arenas, students cover the basics of oat-powered transportation, such as mounting, dismounting, and transitioning from walk to halt. In group classes, students glean horseback know-how alongside up to five other riders. During private lessons, students build upon individual strengths and weaknesses and discuss the advancement of elective hoof surgery for humans.