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Melissa Toogood on Dance, Legacy & Her Vision as 2025 Artist-in-Residence
Artist-In-Residence Melissa Toogood is celebrated around the world for her work as a modern dancer and master teacher, and her career continues in 2025 as the new Dean and Director of Juilliard’s legendary dance division. Toogood’s first professional appointment was as a dancer in Merce Cunningham Dance Company, where she was one of the last dancers to work directly with Cunningham himself. As a longtime dancer for choreographer Pam Tanowitz, she has also 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. A Festival artist since 2015, we caught up with Toogood this spring to learn about her dance background and how coming to Vail in the summer continues to inspire her artistic passions and connections with her peers and collaborators. 1. As we go to press, you have just been announced as Juilliard’s new Dean and Director of Dance, beginning this summer. Congratulations! Can you share a little about your vision for dance at Juilliard and dance in the world?
I want them to be the greatest dancers and dance makers they can possibly be. I’m committed to deeply embodying the foundational techniques and focusing on craft. Exploration, nurturing curiosity, giving them access to new repertory and ideas are also priorities of mine. They are so excited about collaboration, and the possibilities are endless when you think about what we could do across disciplines at Juilliard and in the city of New York. I want to continue to expand the opportunities for them to connect with their unique futures in the field. Dance is a powerful connector in the world. We need that now, and we will always need that.
2.) You grew up in Australia and studied abroad at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, to obtain your BFA in Dance Performance. When did you first learn of your love for dance, and what inspired you to make this your path in life?
I have always danced. I don’t ever remember not dancing. I was incredibly lucky to have had very good teachers as a child and teenager who really encouraged me and shared with me the kinds of opportunities that were out there. They pushed me to go to college in the U.S. for dance, and there the world and the possibility of living a life as an artist opened up. I feel lucky I found my way of understanding and contributing to the world. That created a confidence and power in me that instigated a desire to make this my path in life. Through dance and art, I could reach people and my deepest self, and contribute in a meaningful way. It’s not been an easy road, but I do believe it was the only one for me. Fortunately, there have been many incredible moments along the way that have encouraged me to continue to choose this path, like being named Artist-In-Residence at the Vail Dance Festival at 43 years old. I know I still have more to share, and having this kind of recognition is a nice boost to keep me striving for more.
3.) You were a member of the esteemed Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 2007–2011 and now serve as an official stager of his work through the Merce Cunningham Trust. You are also a highly sought-after master teacher of the dance legend’s technique throughout the world. What makes his body of work stand the test of time, and how has he influenced your way of dancing and making new choreography?
He changed my instincts. What was possible expanded exponentially when I began working with him. I was always really good at timing and rhythm, but even the possibilities within that opened up beyond what I understood in a linear, mathematical way. I loved the problem solving aspect of figuring out how to dance his technically demanding work, but I know it also deepened my artistry as a performer. He famously made dances with no story, but I found the works to be complex in their relationships and their ability to share the nuance of life and that’s probably my biggest takeaway when I attempt to make dances. A trust that if you’re a person fully committed to doing something, especially in proximity to someone else, there is humanity and drama there.
4.) You first attended the Vail Dance Festival in 2015 and have returned frequently. What is your favorite aspect of coming to Vail each summer, and what are you looking forward to as this year’s Artist-In-Residence?
As a dancer, I’m often dancing Pam Tanowitz’s work here, which is deeply important to me because I may be most often associated with Cunningham, but I have worked closely with Pam in a variety of ways since 2006. I truly consider her work to be my life’s work, and I get to keep going further with her each summer. This year, I will be dancing one of my favorite duets from her work Song of Songs with music by David Lang. Damian and Heather have really trusted me to grow a love for Merce’s work with the Vail audience and with the Festival artists. That contribution to Merce’s legacy has been a really meaningful aspect of the Festival for me over the years. I also never quite know what exactly I’m going to end up doing here, and that is terrifyingly fun! I get to dive into the deep end with the best artists in the world, in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
5.) Your first commissioned choreography for the Festival was in 2023, a work entitled Willed to the Next Corner that featured you dancing alongside New York City Ballet dancers India Bradley, Sara Mearns, and Miriam Miller. What will you be choreographing this year, who will you be working with, and will you be dancing in the new work as well?
I’m reading about attunement and how children are wired to physically connect. I feel like at this moment it’s interesting to me to explore paths to synchrony, and the humanity we find in collective ritual. Though all I know for sure is that I’m planning to dance in it, and the rest is still being discovered, which I love because I think risk taking is an important part of art making. It might be a total disaster, but there’s a chance it might be really great. Either way, I know I always have a great time working in the studios here with incredibly open, curious, and positive artists across genres.
6.) Tell us what is next for you!*
I’m reading about attunement and how children are wired to physically connect. I feel like at this moment it’s interesting to me to explore paths to synchrony, and the humanity we find in collective ritual. Though all I know for sure is that I’m planning to dance in it, and the rest is still being discovered, which I love because I think risk taking is an important part of art making. It might be a total disaster, but there’s a chance it might be really great. Either way, I know I always have a great time working in the studios here with incredibly open, curious, and positive artists across genres.
From the studios of Vail to the stages of the world, Toogood’s artistry continues to inspire—and we can’t wait to see what she brings this summer.
* Read all about Melissa’s new role at Juilliard in the New York Times Article.
