World Premieres

Since Damian Woetzel stepped into the role of Artistic Director in 2007, the Festival has made the creation of new works a priority. Launched in 2011, the NOW: Premieres program – an evening devoted to world premieres – brings new works to life, nurtures emerging talent and fosters collaboration among artists from diverse backgrounds.

“It’s an evening that inspires enthusiastic anticipation and delivers rich rewards.” –The New York Times

86 WORLD PREMIERES

2016 VAIL DANCE FESTIVAL: REMIX NYC

In Damian Woetzel’s tenth year as Artistic Director of the Vail Dance Festival, New York’s City Center presented three programs and an UpClose performance channeling the spirit of our acclaimed summer dance event in the Rocky Mountains. The event included Sara Mearns performing Ratmansky’s Fandago, hailed by The New York Times as the dance of 2016: “And in November, the illustrious Sara Mearns danced the New York premiere of Mr. Ratmansky’s ballerina solo “Fandango” (created for Wendy Whelan in 2010 at the Vail International Dance Festival, to Boccherini music). Ms. Mearns blazed; her musicality electrified. If I had to choose one 2016 performance by one dancer, this would be the one.” — Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times. Read the review here. 

Thursday | Nov. 3, 2016 | 8pm

Apollo
(Stravinsky/Balanchine)
Herman Cornejo, Tiler Peck, Isabella Boylston, and Misa Kuranaga

1·2·3·4·5·6
(Dorrance/Toogood/Lil Buck/Fairchild)
Michelle Dorrance, Melissa Toogood, Lil Buck, and Robert Fairchild

Fandango
(Boccherini/Ratmansky)
Sara Mearns

This Bitter Earth
(Otis/Richter/Wheeldon)
Isabella Boylston and Calvin Royal III, with Kate Davis (vocals)

Élégie
(Stravinsky/Balanchine)
Carla Körbes

Divertimento Brillante
(Glinka/Balanchine)
Tiler Peck and Joseph Gordon

Lil Buck @ City Center: A Jookin’ Jam Session
(various composers/Lil Buck and others)
Lil Buck, Yo-Yo Ma, and other artists

Friday | Nov. 4, 2016 | 8pm

Apollo
(Stravinsky/Balanchine)
Robert Fairchild, Tiler Peck, Isabella Boylston, and Devon Teuscher

Leaves are Fading
(Dvorak/Tudor)
Tiler Peck and Cory Stearns

Lamentation
(Kodaly/Graham)
Carla Körbes

Fandango
(Boccherini/Ratmansky)
Sara Mearns

Lil Buck @ City Center: A Jookin’ Jam Session
(various composers/Lil Buck and others)
Lil Buck and other artists

Saturday | Nov. 5, 2016 | 8pm

Canvas
(Crystal/Keigwin)
Keigwin + Company

Ife / My Heart  
(Rucker/R. Brown)
Matthew Rushing

Anywhere on This Road
(Lhasa/Sheu)
Fang-Yi Sheu and Ron “Prime Tyme” Myles

Suite from Mazurkas
(Chopin/Limon)
Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild

First Fall
(Glass/Brooks)
Wendy Whelan and Brian Brooks

Liquid Velvet
(Dallapiccola/Gates)
Carla Körbes and Jared Angle

This Bitter Earth
(Otis/Richter/Wheeldon)
Isabella Boylston and Calvin Royal III, with Kate Davis (vocals)

Tabla-ture   
(Das/Lil Buck/Woetzel)
Lil Buck and Sandeep Das

Divertissement Pas de Deux from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Mendelssohn/Balanchine)
Tiler Peck and Jared Angle

Switch Phase
(Zhurbin/Neenan)
BalletX

Sunday | Nov. 6, 2016 | 3pm

UpClose: Footwork
In this performance event, Damian Woetzel coaches dancers and deconstruct their work onstage in front of the audience while providing musical and choreographic context. Joining Woetzel to illustrate the sophistication of footwork in a wide variety of genres are Lil Buck, Carla Espinoza, Robert Fairchild, Carla Körbes, Gabriel Missé, Tiler Peck, Matthew Rushing,Fang-Yi Sheu, and others.