UpClose with Damian Woetzel

Damian Woetzel // Artistic Director

Damian Woetzel has been the artistic director of the Vail Dance Festival since 2006, annually bringing together a wide range of dancers and musicians. Under Woetzel’s leadership, the Festival has grown dramatically and gained an international reputation as a dynamic hub of new collaborations and commissions. In addition to his work as the director of the Vail Dance Festival, Woetzel has taken on multiple roles in arts leadership since retiring in 2008 from a 20-year career as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet and as a dancer on the international stage. During his distinguished dance career, he was lauded for performances in a range of roles created by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and he had works choreographed for him by Robbins, Eliot Feld, Susan Stroman, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon among others.

As an independent director, choreographer, and producer, Woetzel’s recent projects include DEMO, an interdisciplinary series at the Kennedy Center; Spaces by Wynton Marsalis for Jazz at Lincoln Center; Lil Buck @ Le Poisson Rouge, featuring Lil Buck, Yo-Yo Ma and an array of other stellar musicians; televised Kennedy Center Honors tributes to Natalia Makarova (2012), Patricia McBride (2014), and Carmen de Lavallade (2017); an arts salute to Stephen Hawking for the World Science Festival; two Turnaround Arts performances at the White House; and the first performance of the White House Dance Series, which was hosted by Michelle Obama.

Woetzel has collaborated on numerous initiatives with Yo-Yo Ma, including the Silk Road Connect program in the New York City public schools and Arts Strike, a pioneering format for artists to engage in public service. In 2009, Woetzel became the founding director of the Jerome Robbins Foundation’s New Essential Works (NEW) Program, a five-year program that initiated grants to enable the production of 35 new dance works. In 2009, President Obama appointed Woetzel to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities; he served until 2017 and worked on creating the Turnaround Arts Program, which brings arts education to challenged school districts across the country. From 2011-2018, Woetzel served as the Director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, which aims to further the value of the arts in society through programming and collaborative initiatives.

Woetzel holds a Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School. He received the Harvard Arts Medal in 2015, and in spring of 2018 was announced as a new member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. On July 1, 2018, Damian Woetzel became the seventh president of The Juilliard School.

Heather Watts

Heather Watts is an American former principal ballerina, educator, and writer best known for her 25-year career with the New York City Ballet, where George Balanchine promoted her to principal in 1979. Renowned as one of his last muses, she created and performed iconic roles in Balanchine and Jerome Robbins works before retiring in 1995. She has since taught at institutions like Harvard and Princeton, and is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Lil Buck

Maddie Cabral

MADDIE CABRAL is a member of the Trinity Irish Dance Company. Originally from Ashburn, Virginia, Maddie is a unique mover with a fresh and fearless approach to Trinity’s range of repertoire. Her dynamism, extraordinary versatility, and individuality have shaped her as an invaluable collaborator in the studio and a crowd favorite on stage. Maddie’s distinct style has been celebrated by audiences worldwide, from Tokyo to New York City’s Joyce Theater to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Maddie recently received her BS in Community Health and Clinical Science from George Mason University, and in addition to continuing to redefine the possibilities for Irish dance with the Trinity Irish Dance Company, she is pursuing a career in medicine.   

Adji Cissoko

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 and was named Associate Artistic Director in 2026. 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.

Youba Cissokho

Kate Davis

Kate Davis is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music and has spent over a decade performing various musical styles at a wide range of venues across New York City, from rock clubs to Lincoln Center. In 2023, she released an album titled “Fish Bowl” through Anti Records. Recently, she relocated to her hometown of Portland, Oregon, to work as a music-thanatologist.

Michelle Dorrance

Michelle Dorrance

Sofía Dorantes

SOFÍA DORANTES is a member of the Trinity Irish Dance Company. Reigning from Querétaro, Mexico, Sofía has achieved enormous feats throughout her competitive Irish dance career, including winning the Southern US regional championships three times and an unprecedented fourth place at the World Championships, breaking records and opening new portals for Irish dancers from Latin America. Her ability to break new ground continues through her evolution to the performing arts – in her first year with Trinity Irish Dance Company, Sofía’s exquisite technical prowess has been celebrated on stages throughout North America from Jacob’s Pillow to the Joyce Theater to Chicago’s Auditorium. Sofía is studying neuroscience at Mexico’s National Autonomous University. 

Philip Duclos

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 the Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, one of the principal men in Harald Lander’s Études, Melancholic in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, the Sugarplum Cavalier in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Benno in Swan Lake, and the Premier Danseur in August Bournonville’s Kermesse in Bruges. He has also danced featured roles in Raymonda, Don Quixote, Wayne McGregor’s Dante Project, John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Alexei Ratmansky’s The Art of the Fugue. He was also awarded the Ballettens Venner Talent Prize in the spring of 2025. 

Robbie Fairchild

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

Michael Fleck

MICHAEL FLECK is a member of the Trinity Irish Dance Company. A multidimensional artist, Michael thrives on the intersection of rhythms and spatial arrangement. Throughout nine years with the Trinity Irish Dance Company, his unparalleled movement style and percussive virtuosity have caught the attention of critics and audiences worldwide. Prior to his evolution to the performing arts, Michael celebrated a wildly successful competitive Irish dance career, winning the Midwest Regional Championships and the US National Championships several times, placing as high as 2nd at the World Championships and winning the All Ireland National Championships when he was only 9 years old. Originally from Noblesville, Indiana and now based in Chicago, Michael received his Bachelors of Architecture from Ball State University, and exercises his talents in the visual arts as an architectural graduate at a Chicago firm.

Elijah Geolina

Anna Gorman

ANNA GORMAN is a member of the Trinity Irish Dance Company. With 22 years of Irish dance training at Chicago’s Trinity Academy of Irish Dance along with 10 years of ballet and jazz training, Anna is a multidimensional artist with the unique ability to bend genres and consistently deliver the unexpected.  A classically trained violinist and an accomplished visual artist, Anna received a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Dayton, and now works as a graphic designer in Chicago. Throughout her nine years with Trinity Irish Dance Company, Anna’s distinct versatility has been celebrated by audiences worldwide, from Tokyo’s Orchard Hall to New York City’s Joyce Theater to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. 

Daniel Guzmán

Daniel Guzmán began his training on Margarita Island, Venezuela, under the direction of Martha Gómez, Artistic Director of Ballet de la Mar. He won numerous competitions in Venezuela and, after graduating from Ballet de la Mar, moved to the United States to continue his training. He was awarded the Gold Medal at the Youth America Grand Prix 2023 Finals for his performance in Flames of Paris and was also the 2023 Grand Prix winner at the Universal Ballet Competition. He joined the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company in January 2024 under the direction of Artistic Director Sascha Radetsky and was part of the 2024–2025 season. Since December 2025, he has been an Apprentice with American Ballet Theatre.

Catherine Hurlin

Born in New York City, Catherine Hurlin joined ABT as an apprentice in December 2013 and the corps de ballet in June 2014.  She was promoted to Soloist in September 2018 and to Principal In 2022. Her repertoire with the Company includes principal roles such as Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Sir Kenneth MacMillian’s Romeo and Juliet, Giselle and Myrta in Giselle, Lescaut’s Mistress in Manon, Lead Maiden in Firebird, and created the principal role Calirhoe in Alexi Ratmanski’s Of Love and Rage. She also performed leading roles in works by Twyla Tharp, Wayne McGregor, Jessica Lang, Mark Morris, Michelle Dorrance, Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon, Justin Peck, George Balanchine and Alexei Ratmansky.

Chelsea Hoy

CHELSEA HOY (Trinity Irish Dance Company Co-Artistic Director / Choreographer / Dancer) Hoy’s work as a choreographer and dancer has been celebrated by audiences and critics worldwide – from New York City’s Joyce Theater to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival to Tokyo’s Orchard Hall. A Denver native, Hoy saw the Trinity Irish Dance Company (TIDC) at the Vilar Center for the Performing Arts as a nine year-old. Following dreams and fate, she joined TIDC in Chicago in 2014, became Associate Artistic Director in 2018, and was named Co-Artistic Director in February 2026, becoming one of the youngest artistic directors in the industry.

As a formidable performer, choreographer, and organizational leader, Hoy has been at the heart of shaping and evolving this important cultural organization throughout the past decade. She recently celebrated the world premiere of ‘The Sash’, her third co-choreographed work with Founding Artistic Director Mark Howard, following ‘An Sorcas’ (2018) and ‘Taking the Mick’ (2024). Other choreographic credits include assistant director on ‘SÉseacht,’ a collaboration with Michelle Dorrance which celebrated its world premiere at The Joyce Theater in February. This year, at age 30, she was named to the “40 under 40” at by the Irish Echo. 

A powerful activist and artist, Hoy has quickly become a major player in the performing arts world. She is proud to join Howard as they spearhead the future of this cultural art form.

Brooks Landegger

Brooks Landegger recently joined American Ballet Theatre and has danced as a Principal Guest Artist for Czech National Ballet and New York City Ballet.Born in New York, Landegger began his training at School of American Ballet under Jock Soto, Arch Higgins, and Andrei Krameravsky. He performed the Children’s Repertory at NYCB, The Metropolitan Opera, and starred nationally as an award-winning Billy Elliot. Landegger later joined Boston Ballet II under Peter Stark, where he was awarded by National YoungArts Foundation, and Miami City Ballet under Lourdes Lopez, where he was named a Knight Arts Champion for his contributions to the cultural community of South Florida.His Repertory includes John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet (Romeo), Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), and many principal roles in the works of Balanchine and Robbins. He has been featured in The Art of Partnering with Peter Martins and as Fritz in Live from Lincoln Center’s George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Landegger is delighted to return to Vail Dance Festival.

Lauren Lovette

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

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. 

Anne-Marie McDermott

One of the most dazzling American pianists of her generation, Anne-Marie McDermott has played concertos, recitals, and chamber music in hundreds of cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. She is one of the most versatile, respected, and best-reviewed pianists of our time. McDermott continues her tenure as music and artistic director of the Bravo! Vail music festival, in Colorado, through 2026, which hosts world-renowned artists and orchestras from around the world. She is also the artistic director of the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival, in Florida; the artistic director of the McKnight Center’s Chamber Music Festival, at Oklahoma State University; and a former curator of the Mainly Mozart Spotlight Series, in San Diego.

Highlights of McDermott’s 2024-25 season include three performances of the Piano Concerto by the 20th-century American composer Amy Cheney Beach with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, with which she makes her subscription debut, and with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (MA); her debut in Galway, Ireland, performing music by Bach, Busoni, and Brahms at a Music for Galway recital; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra (KY); Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Des Moines Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA (WA); performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, and on tour in Chicago, Grand Rapids, Kansas City, Ashland (OR), and Vienna (VA); a special chamber music program at the New World Symphony, in Miami Beach, that includes Mozart’s Quintet in E-flat major and Olivier Messiaen’s wartime masterwork Quartet for the End of Time; performances as a member of the SPA Trio—with soprano Susanna Phillips and violist Paul Neubauer—at the Rockefeller University (New York City), and at Arizona Friends of Chamber Music (Tucson); and a chamber music program at the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, in Stillwater (OK).

McDermott’s 2023-24 season included performances with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, both resulting in immediate re-engagements. She also performed Mozart with the New York Philharmonic at the McKnight Center in Stillwater. Recent international highlights include recitals in France at the famed Piano aux Jacobins, in Toulouse; performances with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra at the Cartagena International Music Festival; and an all-Haydn recital tour of China.

Chloe Misseldine

Chloe Misseldine began her classical training at Orlando Ballet School.  She attended ABT Summer Intensives in Orange County, California, and New York City as a National Training Scholar from 2016–2018.  In 2016, she performed a traditional Chinese fan dance called Mo Li Hua in the CCTV New Year’s Gala known as the Beijing Spring Festival Gala (Chunwan), broadcast to over 700 million viewers.  At age 15, Misseldine earned second place in the 2017 Youth America Grand Prix New York City Finals and performed at the YAGP “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” Gala.  In 2018, she was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne and joined American Ballet Theatre Studio Company.

Misseldine became an apprentice with American Ballet Theatre in December 2019 and joined the corps de ballet in September 2021. She was promoted to Soloist in September 2022 and to Principal Dancer in July 2024. Her repertoire includes a Flower Girl in Don Quixote, Myrta in Giselle, Rosaura in Like Water for Chocolate, Night Falls, Clara, the Princess, one of the Nutcracker’s Sisters, and the Spanish dance in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Queen of Babylon in Of Love and Rage, Tatiana in Onegin, Rosaline and Lady Montague in Romeo and Juliet, Ice in The Seasons, Odette/Odile, the pas de trois, and a big swan in Swan Lake, “Becomings” in Woolf Works, leading roles in Ballet Imperial, La Boutique, and Sylvia Pas de Deux, and featured roles in Bernstein in a Bubble, La Follia Variations, Petite Mort, and Songs of Bukovina.

Mira Nadon

MIRA NADON was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, California. She attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of NYCB, in 2014 and 2015, before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term. In November 2017, Ms. Nadon became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2018. Ms. Nadon was promoted to the rank of soloist in January 2022, and to principal in February 2023. Nadon has performed featured roles in ballets by Kyle Abraham, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Sidra Bell, Ulysses Dove, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Tiler Peck, Alysa Pires, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, and Christopher Wheeldon. Her awards include the 2021 Clive Barnes Award in Dance, the 2022 Princess Grace Award, and the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Unity Phelan

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.

Calvin Royal III

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

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 // Composer-In-Residence

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. 

Davóne Tines

Davóne Tines is a Grammy-nominated creator, curator, and performer working at the intersection of opera, art song, spirituals, gospel, and protest songs. Called “a singer of immense power and fervor” by The New Yorker, his work tells deeply personal stories that connect to broader cultural histories.

He recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut in John Adams’s El Niño and released his first studio album, ROBESOИ, reimagining music associated with baritone Paul Robeson. Tines has premiered operas by John Adams, Terence Blanchard, and Matthew Aucoin, and has appeared with major orchestras, performing works from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic to his own devised concertos with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

Tines’ honors include the 2025 Harvard Arts Medal, 2024 Chanel Next Prize, 2022 Musical America Vocalist of the Year, and the 2020 Sphinx Medal of Excellence. He is a graduate of Harvard University and The Juilliard School.

Ryan Tomash

This past fall, New York City Ballet welcomed to the ranks Soloist Ryan Tomash, who moved to the Big Apple from Copenhagen, where he was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet. Following a busy fall, which included a number of repertory debuts as well as originating a role in Jamar Roberts’ Foreseeable Future; the many wondrous delights of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker^®; and a jam-packed winter, including performances in the latest works from Resident Choreographer Justin Peck and Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky—The Wind-Up and The Naked King, respectively—Tomash was promoted to the rank of principal dancer.

We spoke to the Canadian dancer about his career prior to joining the company, how his first few months have gone, and what he likes best about the city, among other things. Get to know Ryan Tomash better before he takes the stage again this spring.

Melissa Toogood

Melissa Toogood has been a prominent presence 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 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 an 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. Most notably, Melissa is a longtime dancer with choreographer Pam Tanowitz, where she also served as Rehearsal Director and Artistic Associate, assisting on new works for major institutions such as The Australian Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, The Royal Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company and others. Melissa’s freelance career spans performances with leading artists including Tanowitz, Kyle Abraham, Kimberly Bartosik, Michelle Dorrance, Rosie Herrera, Jodi Melnick, Rashaun Mitchell, Jamar Roberts, Sally Silvers, Bobbi Jene Smith, Christopher Williams, the Bang Group: Tap Lab, and the Stephen Petronio Company. Her own work has been commissioned by Boston Ballet, New York Theater Ballet, and the Vail Dance Festival. She most recently premiered Johnny Loves Johann, a collaborative creation and performance led by violinist Johnny Gandelsman, with John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, and Jamar Roberts. In 2025, Melissa was appointed Dean and Director of the Juilliard Dance Division and continues to shape the future of dance through education and mentorship.

Moriah Trenk

Praised for her “fluid and graceful style,” Moriah Trenk has performed as a soloist and with ensembles at venues and concert series including Bargemusic, Candlelight Concerts by Fever, Jordan Hall, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, among other venues. She currently works with New York City Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. She has worked as Company Pianist at Philadelphia Ballet, and has also collaborated with BalletX, Boston Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and Mark Morris Dance Group. Moriah was recently featured as a performer on WFMT, Chicago’s classical music radio station. She has been selected to record a debut album on Cedille Records, in collaboration with oboist Oliver Talukder.

Moriah has also performed in theater and cabaret productions, including West Side Story, Songs for a New World, and Artemisia LeFay’s ‘Ghosts of Weimar Past’. Moriah has performed outreach concerts with Boston’s Volunteer Musicians for the Arts, and was accompanist for The Woman’s Chorus; a social initiative launched by Eureka Ensemble that enables women experiencing homelessness and poverty the opportunity to rehearse and perform in a chorus.