AILEY II
Vilar Performing Arts Center
Closing Night
The Festival’s lab-like environment is the ideal setting for new music and dance collaborations. Performed by an extraordinary lineup of Festival artists and the companies BalletX and DanceAspen, the 2023 NOW: Premieres performance will unveil new works created for the Festival by innovative choreographers of today including Kyle Abraham, Matthew Neenan, Justin Peck, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts, Adji Cissoko, and Melissa Toogood. Learn more about the 2023 new works below!
Generously Underwritten in part by Gina Browning & Joe Illick.
The stream will stay online for one week, so be sure to tune in before August 14 at 5pm MDT!
Photo credit: Mira Nadon performs Tiler Peck’s “And So” at the 2021 Vail Dance Festival. Photo by Christopher Duggan.
MORE TICKETING INFORMATION:
Gates open one hour prior to showtime.
Olivia Bell is a corps de ballet member with New York City Ballet. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she trained locally before being accepted to the School of American Ballet in 2018. While a student, Olivia originated a featured role in Gianna Reisen’s Signs. In 2022 Olivia became an apprentice with New York City Ballet and was then promoted to corps de ballet in 2023. As a corps member Olivia has performed featured roles in Kyle Abraham’s Love Letter on Shuffle, George Balanchine’s Swan Lake, Tiler Peck’s Concerto for Two Pianos, and Jerome Robbins Interplay.
India Bradley is a member of New York City Ballet’s Corps de Ballet. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and began her dance training at the age of four at The Link School of the Arts in Troy, Michigan. At the age of eleven, she attended the Academy of Russian Classical Ballet in Novi, Michigan, under the direction of Sergey Rayevitskey.
Ms. Bradley attended the summer program at Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2012, and entered DTH’s Professional Training Program under the direction of Andrea Long that fall.
She attended the 2014 summer session at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school, and enrolled as a full-time student later that year.
Ms. Bradley was named an apprentice in August 2017 and joined the Company as a member of the Corps de Ballet in August 2018.
Charles “Lil Buck” Riley is a world-renowned and award-winning performing artist, entrepreneur, and advocate for the arts and humanities. Lil Buck’s dance repertoire includes a multitude of styles including Memphis Jookin’, ballet, hip-hop, and modern, just to name a few.
Over the course of his career, he has performed and collaborated with some of the world’s finest artists and brands including Yo-Yo Ma, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Nike, Chanel, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Apple, Jordan, Lexus, Gap, and many others.
Outside of dance, Lil Buck is a true creative and has provided a unique skill-set to top-notch projects which include being a choreographer on the Starz TV series Blindspotting, Season 1 and 2, a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance, and roles in both the movie Emperor and the feature film Her. Lil Buck designed a capsule collection for Versace and provided artistic consultation to many brands over his lengthy career. Recently, Lil Buck’s story and creative process were captured in the documentary Lil Buck: Real Swan which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and in the Netflix documentary series, MOVE.
Lil Buck has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2014, Lil Buck was presented with the Wall Street Journal’s Innovator of the Year award. His strong business acumen is ever present in the many projects that he is involved in outside of dance which include ventures related to food and beverage, brand management, fashion, and production.
Currently, Lil Buck is personally producing multiple major stage shows which culminate the essence of dance as a tool to change the world. One of his newest productions in development transforms Lil Buck back to his home-town roots. Entitled Memphis Jookin’: The Show, this awe inspiring production brings Lil Buck’s career full circle.
Mr. Chan was born in Guangdong, China, in 1992 and trained at the Guangzhou Art School from 2004 to 2010. In 2010 he was finalist at the Prix de Lausanne, Switzerland, which earned him a full scholarship to study with Houston Ballet Academy. Chan joined the corps de ballet of Houston Ballet in 2012 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2017. In 2020, Chan was among the finalists of Hunan TV’s “Dance Smash”.
Chan joined NYCB as a soloist in 2021 and was promoted to principal dancer the following year, making him the company’s first Chinese principle since its founding in 1948. Most recently, Forbes China included Chan in their “30 under 30” list and he was featured on the cover of Dance magazine for May 2023. (@chunner)
Jeffrey Cirio began his ballet training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. He also studied at Boston Ballet School and Orlando Ballet School. In 2006, he was awarded a Grand Prix medal in the regionals, and a gold medal in the New York finals of Youth America Grand Prix. He went on to win a bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS and a silver medal at the 5th Seoul International Dance Competition. Cirio’s other awards include “Best Male Dancer” at the 2006 American Ballet Competition, a gold medal at Tanzolymp Competition, a silver level award in ballet at the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts 2009 Arts Week, the Senior Grand Prix Award and the Mary Day Award for Artistry at the 2009 Youth America Grand Prix, and a gold medal at the 2009 World Ballet Competition. He went on to win a gold medal at the 2009 Helsinki International Ballet Competition, becoming the first American to do so.
Cirio danced for Boston Ballet in 2009 as a corps de ballet member and was awarded the coveted Princess Grace Fellowship for 2009. He was promoted to second soloist in 2010, soloist in 2011 and principal in 2012.
Cirio joined American Ballet Theatre in September 2015 as a Soloist and was promoted to Principal in June 2016. In 2017, Cirio was invited to be a guest artist with English National Ballet. He joined ENB as Lead Principal in 2018 where he danced the role of the Creature in Akram Khan’s “Creature.” Cirio was nominated as Best Male Dancer in the UK in 2019, 2021 and 2022 by the National Dance Awards. In 2022, he won Outstanding Male Classical Performance for his role in “Creature.”
Cirio performs in galas and events throughout the US, and internationally, including in China, Japan, Ukraine, Mexico, and Mongolia
He is the co-founder (with his sister and fellow principal, Lia Cirio) and Artistic Director of Cirio Collective, and has created works for the Collective, Boston Ballet, Ballet Academy East, Central PA Youth Ballet, and English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer.
Adji Cissoko was born and grew up in Munich, Germany, where she trained at the Ballet Academy Munich and graduated with a diploma in dance. Cissoko attended the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City on full scholarship before joining the National Ballet of Canada in 2010. In 2012, she was awarded the Patron Award of Merit by the Patrons’ Council Committee of The National Ballet of Canada. Cissoko joined LINES Ballet in 2014. Since then, she’s originated many central roles and guested for galas worldwide. Cissoko has given multiple master classes and taught classes around the world as part of the company’s outreach program. In 2020, she became certified in health/life coaching and ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Cissoko choreographed her first piece, “AZIZ,” for Ballet X in 2021. She is also a 2022 recipient of the Toulmin Fellowship and was the Artist-in-Residence for Vail Dance Festival in 2023.
Patricia Delgado (she/her), first generation Cuban-American, was born in Miami, Florida. She was a principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet where she worked for almost 20 years and is currently a freelance artist living in NYC and a member of the dance faculty at The Juilliard School. She began her dance training, under cuban tutelage at 5 years old. She spent summers training in NYC at the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. In 2000, she was the Princess Grace Nominee and Edward Villella invited her to join his company as an apprentice.
Patricia Delgado has performed works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Anthony Tudor, Richard Alston, Christopher Wheeldon, Edward Villella and Trey McIntyre as well as classical works such as “Coppelia”, “Giselle” and “Don Quixote”. One of her most memorable performances was performing the role of Juliet in John Cranko’s “Romeo and Juliet”. Patricia has also been incredibly fortunate to have created feature works with choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Pam Tanowitz, Jamar Roberts, Lauren Lovette, John Heginbotham, and Jodi Melnick among others.
She has performed at The Bolshoi, in Moscow, at the Theatre du Chatelet, in Paris, France, at the Chicago Dancing Festival, at the Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado and in New York City; at Fall for Dance at City Center, at the Joyce Theater and at the Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center among others.
Patricia has written several essays for dance publications. One entitled “Why I Dance” in January of 2015 for Dance Magazine and one for Dance Spirit Magazine in April of 2013.
She performed as Maggie Anderson in the musical “Brigadoon”, directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon at Encores! City Center, she starred in the music video “The Dark Side of the Gym” for The National and also appeared as a guest performer on The Tonight Show. She is a repetiteur for Justin Peck. She staged “In Creases” on Boston Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and for members of The American Ballet Theatre and “Heatscape” in Dresden, Germany at the Semperoper Ballett. She was an Associate Producer on the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story and she is an Associate Choreographer on the feature film West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg. She was named a “Mujeres Imparables” by Telemundo in February 2022. And most recently joined the Advisory Committee at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
She is devoted to creating a nurturing and positive environment of diversity, authenticity, inclusivity, vulnerability and belonging in all that she embarks upon, especially as she ventures into producing work for artists she admires, most recently Adriana Pierce’s #QueerTheBallet.
She and her husband, Justin Peck welcomed their daughter, Lucia Isabella into this world in March, 2021.
Philip Duclos is a soloist with The Royal Danish Ballet. He joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2022, and was promoted to soloist in 2025. He has danced roles such as Prince Desiré in Christopher Wheeldon’s Sleeping Beauty, one of the principal men in Harald Lander’s Études, and Melancholic in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. He has also danced featured roles in Wayne McGregor’s Dante Project, Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, Jerome Robbins’ The Four Seasons, Gregory Dean’s Cinderella and Gotta Dance, John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Nikolaj Hübbe’s Raymonda and Don Quixote. He was also awarded the Ballettens Venner Talent Prize in the spring of 2025.
ROBBIE FAIRCHILD made his Tony nominated Broadway debut in 2015 as Jerry Mulligan in the Tony Award-winning musical An American in Paris, which he reprised in London’s West End in 2017. He was awarded the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theater World, National Dance and Astaire Award for this performance and was nominated for the Evening Standard and Drama League Awards. From 2009 to 2017, Fairchild performed as a Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet. His other theater credits include Monster in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (Signature Theater, Chita Rivera Award), Harry Beaton in Brigadoon (New York City Center), Will Parker in Oklahoma! (Royal Albert Hall, London), Mike Costa in A Chorus Line(Hollywood Bowl), and Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate (Roundabout Theater Company’s 2017 Gala). Television: Étoile (Prime Video), Soundtrack (Netflix), Mixtape (FOX Pilot), Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), Oklahoma! (BBC Proms), Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and Carousel Boy in NY Philharmonic’s Carousel (PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center), Dancing With The Stars, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Live with Kelly and Michael, CBS Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes. Film: Tom Hooper’s Cats, An American in Paris Live (West End Production), The Chaperone and NY Export: Opus Jazz. Represented by CAA. @robbiefairchild
Cameron Grant is recently retired after 37 years with the New York City Ballet. As a solo pianist, he performed a vast repertoire for solo piano including the Bach Goldberg Variations, Pictures at an Exhibition, Dances at a Gathering, Polyphonia, In the Night, and numerous other solo premieres. The concerti he has performed include works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Hindemith, Dohnanyi, Prokofiev, Bartok, MacMillan, Ravel and Gershwin. He toured with the company across the globe in theaters in St Petersburg, Athens, Edinburgh, Paris, London, Parma, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul and has appeared in festivals in New Hampshire, Vail and Nantucket. A renowned collaborative pianist, Cameron has worked and/or recorded with Joel Krosnick, Ronald Thomas, Hiroko Yakima, The Leonardo Trio with Erica Kiesewetter and Jonathan Spitz, and Zina Schiff, among others. Zina and Cameron have collaborated for 30 years and recorded 8 CDs together. He spent five years touring with James Winn as half of the Grant-Winn piano duo, a duo that took top honors at the Munich Competition. Cameron was also a member of the New York New Music Ensemble. In 2004, he won an Emmy Award as a soloist in the Live From Lincoln Center broadcast, “Balanchine at 100,” and was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors with three other members of the New York City Ballet for President Bush.
Born in San Diego, California, Spencer Lenain began his dance training at age 7 at Ballet Arte where he was instructed by Erlends Zieminch and Sara Viale. He also attended nine summer intensives at American Ballet Theater, earning the National Training Scholar scholarship three times. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2024 with a BFA in dance. He has performed at the Vail Dance Festival each of the last two years, and in the fall of 2024, he performed as Tybalt in LA Dance Project’s Romeo and Juliet. Spencer is also very active on social media where his ballet videos are featured on TikTok @spencerdancerrr and Instagram @spencerdancer.
Lauren Lovette personifies the intertwining of dance and choreography, moving seamlessly from one to the other. Her work has been commissioned and performed by leading dance companies and festivals, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Vail International Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Juilliard, Oregon Ballet Theater, Colorado Ballet, as well as a self-produced evening entirely of her own work in which she also danced, Why It Matters.
Born in Thousand Oaks, California, Lovette began studying ballet at the age of 11 at the Cary Ballet Conservatory in Cary, North Carolina. She enrolled at SAB as a full time student in 2006. In October 2009, Ms. Lovette became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in September 2010. Promoted to soloist in February 2013 and to principal dancer in June 2015, she stepped down from her position at the company in 2021 in order to embark on a career devoted to dance and choreography in more equal measure. She is now the choreographer in residence at the Paul Taylor Dance Company and performs as a guest principal dancer around the world.
Ms. Lovette received the Clive Barnes Award for dance in December 2012 and was the 2012-2013 recipient of the Janice Levin Award.
SARA MEARNS, Columbia, SC, principal dancer New York City Ballet since 2008. Originated roles with choreographers Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, Bobbi Jene Smith, Christopher Wheeldon, Guillaume Cote, Beth Gill, among others. Guest Performer: Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Cunningham Centennial Celebration, Jodi Melnick Dance, Bill T Jones/Lee Ming Wei, and Wang Ramirez. At NYCC, she starred in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Encores! I Married An Angel, and Twyla Now as well as multiple Fall for Dances, and performed Dances of Isadora Duncan at Lincoln Center. At The Joyce in 2022, Sara performed a full evening with five world premier pieces, titled “A piece of Work”, awarded the Bessie Award for outstanding performer in 2018, awarded the Dance Magazine Award in 2019, and an Honorary Doctorate University of South Carolina in 2019.
Miriam Miller was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and began her dance training in 2001 at the University of Iowa Youth Ballet and School of Dance. In 2006, she began studying at City Ballet of Iowa. She attended summer courses at SAB in 2011 and 2012, enrolling as a full-time student during the 2012 winter term. Miller became an apprentice with NYCB in January 2015 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in January 2016. In January 2022, Miller was promoted to Soloist with NYCB. Since joining the Company, Miller has performed featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Peter Martins, Justin Peck and Jerome Robbins, and she has also originated roles in works by Peck, Christopher Wheeldon, Lauren Lovette, and Pam Tanowitz. Miller is a recipient of the 2017 Princess Grace Award.
Mayfield Myers was born in New York City and raised in East Hampton, New York. At age 9 she began ballet with Sara Jo Strickland. In 2013, she continued her studies on scholarship at The School of American Ballet for 4 years. As a student she performed with the New York City Ballet in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Harlequinade and Jerome Robbins Circus Polka. Additionally, she trained with Marcia Dale Weary at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Miami City Ballet School. In 2021, Mayfield competed in the Prix De Lausanne, as well as being invited to the international finals of Youth America Grand Prix that same year. Mayfield joined Philadelphia Ballet Il in August 2021 and was promoted to the Corps De Ballet in June 2022. With Philadelphia Ballet, performance highlights include George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Dewdrop), Agon and Divertimento No. 15, Angel Corella’s Swan Lake (Big Swans),Le Corsaire (3rd Odalisque) and Sleeping Beauty (Precious Stones, Vitality Fairy) and Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella (Autumn Fairy).
At the Vail Dance Festival, she has danced in George Balanchine’s Apollo and Who Cares? (2024), La Ventana Pas de Trois (2023) and World Premieres by Lauren Lovette and Kyle Abraham. Mayfield has been named in Dance Magazine’s 2025 “25 to watch list”.
Unity Phelan was born in Princeton, New Jersey where she studied at the Princeton Ballet School. After attending summer courses at the School of American Ballet, Phelan was invited to attend the school full time and remained at the school for three years. Phelan was invited to join the New York City Ballet in the winter of 2012 as an apprentice and joined the company as a Corps de Ballet member in 2013. In the Winter of 2017, Phelan was promoted to Soloist dancer and in the Fall of 2021, she was promoted to Principal dancer. In her time at New York City Ballet, Phelan has danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon and other choreographers. Phelan has been featured in Dance Magazine, Elle Magazine, and People Style Magazine. In the last couple years, Phelan has been found on the silver screen acting in “John Wick 3: Parabellum” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”. In 2019, Phelan was awarded the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award for her work at New York City Ballet.
Caili Quan is a New York-based choreographer who danced with BalletX from 2013 to 2020. She has created works for BalletX, The Juilliard School, Vail Dance Festival, American Repertory Ballet, Flight Path Dance Project, Stars of American Ballet, Asbury Park Dance Festival, Oakland Ballet, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, and Ballet Academy East. She served as an Artistic Partnership Initiative Fellow and a Toulmin Creator at The Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU. With BalletX she performed new works by Matthew Neenan, Nicolo Fonte, Gabrielle Lamb, Penny Saunders, Trey McIntyre, and danced at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Belgrade Dance Festival, and DEMO by Damian Woetzel at the Kennedy Center. Mahålang, a short documentary that wove familial conversations of her Chamorro Filipino upbringing on Guam with scenes from BalletX’s Love Letter, was shown at the Hawai’i International Film Festival, CAAMFest, and the Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. She also participated in New York Choreographic Institute’s 2022 Fall Session under the direction of Adrian Danchig-Waring. Caili is a Creative Associate at The Juilliard School.
Johnny Gandelsman, violin
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Nicholas Cords, viola
Michael Nicolas, cello
“A string quartet of boundless imagination.”—NPR
Celebrating twenty years of shared musical exploration, Brooklyn Rider originated in a living room, four friends in search of an outlet for their curiosities. Inspired by the probing spirit of Germany’s pre-WW1 artistic collective Der Blaue Reiter, they recognized parallels with their creative community in Brooklyn at the time and began to build projects. In the following two decades, Brooklyn Rider has undertaken a staggering amount of work, carving a singular space in the world of string quartets. Through thoughtful programmatic framing, deep-rooted collaborations, and innovative commissioning projects, Brooklyn Rider has used the medium at every point in their adventurous journey as a vehicle for exploration and discovery. Inspired equally by the rich repertoire of the past and the limitless canvas of new creation, Brooklyn Rider seeks to create meaningful and memorable experiences for their audiences.
To mark the twenty year milestone, a wide range of projects are on the horizon for 2025 and beyond that celebrate the key elements of their work. Honoring a long-standing relationship with the string quartets of Philip Glass (String Quartet # 3, Mishima was on Brooklyn Rider’s first public program), Brooklyn Rider has embarked on the first ever retrospective of the composer’s complete works for the medium. Initially presented by the Yale Schwarzman Center this past fall, the retrospective is next happening in May 2025 at the Met Cloisters in NYC before heading further afield. A major commission by Gabriela Lena Frank, Frida’s Dreams is due for the 2025-26 season. A forthcoming recording, The Four Elements (slated for May 2025) servesas a dual metaphor for the complex inner world of the string quartet and the future of planet Earth, the latest example of the kind of programmatic concept long associated with Brooklyn Rider. The quartet expands their reach into the orchestral world in future seasons with a new work for quartet and orchestra by Nico Muhly, to be presented by a wide ranging consortium of orchestras across Europe and North America. Lastly, a special concert at Tanglewood this August will feature the Schubert Cello Quintet as the centerpiece alongside the quartet’s friend and mentor Yo-Yo Ma.
The beginning days of Brooklyn Rider’s history included numerous self-produced concerts events, and the quartet has since cherished the live performance experience in its many guises. In more recent years, the quartet has made regular appearances in many of the major musical centers of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia – from Zurich’s Tonhalle, Carnegie Hall, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the Sydney Opera House, the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, and London’s Wigmore Hall. Comfortable in a wide range of performance outlets, they have also appeared on the main stage of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, at Austin’s South By Southwest Music Festival, and in two NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. Brooklyn Rider has been the long-standing resident string quartet of the Vail Dance Festival, collaborating with many of the finest dancers and choreographers of our time. They have also been privileged to use the balming powers of music at deeply challenging moments along the way. The quartet made a special appearance at a Buddhist Temple in the decimated fishing village of Kesennuma, Japan in the months following the devastating 2011 tsunami. Most recently, Brooklyn Rider played an all Glass concert at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills in the midst of the 2025 Los Angeles area fires.
Brooklyn Rider has remained steadfast in their commitment to generate new music for string quartet at every phase of their history. Through commissioning, collaborative exploration, and the inimitable works of BR’s own Colin Jacobsen, the quartet has left a lasting contribution tothe repertoire. Shared at the height of the US lockdown, the Grammy®- nominated recording and commissioning project Healing Modes (In A Circle Records) was described by The New Yorker as a project which “…could not possibly be more relevant or necessary than it is currently.” The upcoming season will unveil a new program called Citizenship Notes with commissioned works by Don Byron, Ted Hearne, and Angélica Negrón.
Brooklyn Rider has had a voracious appetite for collaboration since their inception, encapsulating their wide-ranging projects and programmatic frames and giving rise to NPR Music’s observation that Brooklyn Rider is “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.” The Butterfly (In A Circle Records), an album which the Irish Times described as “a masterclass in risk-taking,” explored a collaboration with the legendary Irish fiddler Martin Hayes. The 2021-22 season boasted two unique partnerships: one with Israeli mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital, and the other a new chapter of work with Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter (following So Many Things on Naïve Records, 2016). 2022’s The Stranger (Avie Records) with tenor Nicholas Phan was nominated for a 2023 Grammy® award and made numerous best-of lists, including The New Yorker. In fall 2018, Brooklyn Rider released Dreamers on Sony Music Masterworks with Mexican jazz vocalist Magos Herrera which topped charts and garnered a Grammy® nomination for best arrangement (Gonzalo Grau’s “Niña”). Other collaborators include former NYC Ballet prima ballerina Wendy Whelan, banjo icon Béla Fleck, jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman, Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and the Iranian kemancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor.
Calvin Royal III is an acclaimed internationally recognized Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre. After starting ballet at age 14, he gained recognition as a finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, which led to a scholarship at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Within two years, he was promoted to ABT II, and his subsequent growth earned him a position with ABT Main Company in 2010, nominations for the Clive Barnes Award and the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship. Calvin has performed star turns throughout his tours with ABT worldwide including the ABT seasons at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City – as the title role in George Balanchine’s Apollo, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, The Prince in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Count Albrecht in Giselle, and has worked with notable choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Justin Peck, Helen Pickett, Benjamin Millepied, Alonzo King, Mark Morris, Wayne McGreggor, Kyle Abraham, Michelle Dorrance, Jamar Roberts, and many more. In 2017, he was promoted to Soloist, and in 2020, Calvin made history as the third African-American to become Principal Dancer in ABT’s 81-year history. Calvin was the 2020/21 Artist-in-Residence at Vail Dance Festival, and in 2024, he curated and co-produced the Joyce Theater’s Ballet Festival program UNITE. His journey reflects resilience, mentorship, and the transformative power of dance. For more visit calvinroyaliii.com and follow Calvin on all social media platforms @calvinroyaliii
Michael Scales is a musician for dance in New York City, where he serves as pianist at New York City Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and formerly at American Ballet Theatre and New York Theatre Ballet. Michael is pianist for Vail Dance Festival, and has collaborated with Martha Graham Dance Company and Limón Dance Company. Michael has performed at numerous venues around New York City including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, NY City Center, the 92nd Street Y, Rockefeller Center, and in halls across the country and internationally. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where he studied with Dr. Maria Asteriadou, and a Masters of Music degree from James Madison University, where he studied with Dr. Lori Piitz.
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She works often in collaboration with others, as producer, composer, violinist, and vocalist. Caroline is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. This year’s projects include the score to “Fleishman is in Trouble” (FX/Hulu), vocal work with Rosalía (MOTOMAMI), the score to Josephine Decker’s “The Sky Is Everywhere” (A24/Apple), music for the National Theatre’s production of “The Crucible” (dir. Lyndsey Turner), Justin Peck’s “Partita” with NY City Ballet, a new stage work “LIFE” (Gandini Juggling/Merce Cunningham Trust), the premiere of “Microfictions Vol. 3” for NY Philharmonic and Roomful of Teeth, a live orchestral score for Wu Tsang’s silent film “Moby Dick” co-composed with Andrew Yee, two albums on Nonesuch (“Evergreen” and “The Blue Hour”), the score for Helen Simoneau’s dance work “Delicate Power”, tours of Graveyards & Gardens (co-created immersive theatrical work with Vanessa Goodman), and tours with So Percussion featuring songs from “Let The Soil Play Its Simple Part” (Nonesuch), amid occasional chamber music appearances as violist (Chamber Music Society of Minnesota, La Jolla Music Society). Caroline has written over 100 works in the last decade, for Anne Sofie von Otter, Davóne Tines, Yo Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, LA Phil, Philharmonia Baroque, Seattle Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Aizuri Quartet, The Crossing, Dover Quartet, Calidore Quartet, Brooklyn Rider, Miro Quartet, I Giardini, Ars Nova Copenhagen, Ariadne Greif, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Britt Festival, and the Vail Dance Festival. She has contributed production to albums by Rosalía, Woodkid, and Nas. Her work as vocalist or composer has appeared in several films, tv series, and podcasts including The Humans, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, Beyonce’s Homecoming, Tár, Dolly Parton’s America, and More Perfect. Her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite smell is rosemary.
KJ Takahashi is a member of New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet. He was born in Dallas, Texas, and began his ballet training at age 8 at Ballet Academy of Texas under the direction of Lisa Slagle. In 2014, he studied ballet at Mejia Ballet International under the direction of Paul Mejia and in 2015, he began training at Ballet Tech under the direction of Elliot Feld. He entered the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, in 2016, and received additional training at summer courses at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Mr. Takahashi was named an apprentice with NYCB in 2019 and as an apprentice, performed featured roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Candy Cane, Tea) and Lauren Lovette’s The Shaded Line. He originated a featured role in Kyle Abraham’s dance film Where We Fell in 2020. Mr. Takahashi joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2021 and was promoted to soloist in April 2023.
Mr. Takahashi was the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2022-2023.
Davóne Tines is a pathbreaking artist whose work encompasses a diverse repertoire, ranging from early music to new commissions by leading composers, while exploring the social issues of today. A creator, curator, and performer at the intersection of many histories, cultures, and aesthetics, he is engaged in work that blends opera, art song, spirituals, contemporary classical, gospel, and protest songs as a means to tell a deeply personal story of perseverance connecting to all of humanity.
Tines is an artist who takes full agency of his work, often devising new programs and pieces from conception to performance. He has premiered numerous operas by today’s leading composers, including John Adams, Terence Blanchard, and Matthew Aucoin; and his concert appearances include performances of works ranging from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to Kaija Saariaho’s True Fire. He recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut performing in John Adams’ El Niño. His first studio album, ROBESOИ, released on Nonesuch Records on September 13, 2024, explores his connection to legendary American baritone Paul Robeson, reimagining some of the music Robeson famously sang.
Tines is Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Artist-in-Residence and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale’s first-ever Creative Partner. He is Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, a winner of the 2020 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, a recipient of the 2018 Emerging Artists Award from Lincoln Center, and a recipient of the 2024 Chanel Next Prize. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Harvard University.
Melissa Toogood has appeared on the Vail stage since 2015. She is a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) winning, internationally recognized dancer and master teacher celebrated for her work most notably with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, where she was one of the last dancers to work directly with Cunningham himself. A 2013 and 2015 Merce Cunningham Fellow and official stager for the Merce Cunningham Trust, Melissa has taught his technique worldwide since 2007 and continues to stage his work for renowned companies including the Stephen Petronio Company and the Washington Ballet. As a longtime dancer with choreographer Pam Tanowitz, she has served as Rehearsal Director and Artistic Associate for Tanowitz’s company, assisting on new works for major institutions such as The Australian Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and The Royal Ballet. Melissa’s freelance career spans performances with leading artists including Tanowitz, Kyle Abraham, Kimberly Bartosik, Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, Sally Silvers, and the Petronio Company, alongside her own choreographic commissions for Boston Ballet, New York Theater Ballet, and the Vail Dance Festival. She teaches Cunningham Technique at Sydney Dance Company and continues to mentor the next generation of dancers. A prominent voice in the dance community, Melissa has lectured, written for publications like Dance Magazine, and appeared in several films and exhibitions, including the acclaimed Cunningham 3D film.
James Whiteside is redefining the meaning of multihyphenate as a principal dancer and choreographer for the American Ballet Theater, host of the “Stage Rightside” podcast, and author of “Center Center”.
He began his ballet training at age nine at the D’Valda & Sirico Dance and Music Centre in Fairfield, CT. After completing his training, he was a principal dancer with Boston Ballet until 2012 and has been a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre since 2013, dancing principal roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, Giselle, and many more. Additionally, Whiteside has choreographed for pop stars Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift. He continues to choreograph for music videos, commercials, film and ballet including New American Romance and City of Women for American Ballet Theatre and Marilyn’s Funeral for The Juilliard School. The short film, Daytripper, which he directed and choreographed, was nominated for a New York Emmy.
Off the ABT stage, Whiteside published his first book, “Center Center: A Funny, Sexy, Sad Almost Memoir of a Boy in Ballet”. Whiteside’s social media channels have nearly one million followers and his sponsorships include brands such as St. Germain, Sonos, Uber, and more. He also hosts his own popular podcast, “The Stage Rightside with James Whiteside. Whiteside has completed Harvard Business School’s Crossover Into Business program.
Photo by Emil Cohen.
To learn more about attending a performance through our Community Arts Access program or providing support to eliminate socioeconomic barriers to the arts, please contact Martha Brassel ([email protected])