Celebrated choreographer Pam Tanowitz is acclaimed around the world for her unique vision of dance that honors formal structure through a contemporary vocabulary. Intellectually rigorous, playfully inventive, and deeply musical, her work has a signature quality that is all her own and is often tender and emotional. Dance Magazine called her “a master of form and counterpoint,” and The New York Times proclaimed her to be “the finest choreographer to emerge in the last decade.”
A frequent collaborator at the Vail Dance Festival since 2015, Tanowitz has always brought a spirit of curiosity and discovery with each visit to the mountains. This past summer season, she collaborated with Festival artists on three world premieres:
Once More to This Star featuring New York City Ballet’s Mira Nadon, American Ballet Theatre’s Chloe Misseldine, independent dancer Spencer Lenain, and Quartet-In-Residence Brooklyn Rider, and two solos for New York City Ballet’s Joseph Gordon, including faux pas with violinist Colin Jacobsen, and All My Trials with musician Kate Davis.
Take a look back with us on these works and go inside the process of creative ingenuity, tradition, and experimentation that make Pam Tanowitz a favorite at the Vail Dance Festival.
2015 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Music by Greg Saunier
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Assistant to the Choreographer Melissa Toogood
Costumes by Reid Bartelme
Lighting by Aaron Copp
JOSEPH GORDON GRETCHEN SMITH
New York City Ballet
CALVIN ROYAL III
American Ballet Theatre
Musicians: BROOKLYN RIDER with GREG SAUNIER
2017 VAIL DANCE FESTIVAL WORLD PREMIERE
SOLO FOR PATRICIA
Music by Béla Bartók
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Lighting by Aaron Copp
PATRICIA DELGADO
Violin: JOHNNY GANDELSMAN & COLIN JACOBSEN
2017 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
ENTR’ACTE
Music by Caroline Shaw
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Rehearsal assistant Melissa Toogood
Lighting by Aaron Copp
MELISSA TOOGOOD
JARED ANGLE JEFFREY CIRIO
New York City Ballet
CALVIN ROYAL III
American Ballet Theatre
BROOKLYN RIDER
Commission supported by Wendy Williams and Noel & Ben Kullavanijaya.
2019 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
an experiment for Vail
Music by Caroline Shaw
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Costumes by Maile Okamura
Lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker
JARED ANGLE PRESTON CHAMBLEE MIRIAM MILLER
New York City Ballet
CALVIN ROYAL III
American Ballet Theatre
CARLA KÖRBES MELISSA TOOGOOD
Laptop: CAROLINE SHAW
Violin: JOHNNY GANDELSMAN
Commissioned by the 2019 Vail Dance Festival with the generous support of Paul Repetto & Janet Pyle.
2022 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Music by Meredith Monk “Walking Song,”
Peter Sarstedt “Where Do You Go To My Lovely
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Costumes by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung
Lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker
HERMAN CORNEJO
American Ballet Theatre
MELISSA TOOGOOD
Vocals and Guitar: KATE DAVIS
Vocals and Violin: CAROLINE SHAW
No Nonsense is a co-commission between the Vail Dance Festival and New York City Center.
2022 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Costumes by Karen Young
Lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker
MIRIAM MILLER MIRA NADON UNITY PHELAN
New York City Ballet
2024 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Music by Composer-In-Residence Caroline Shaw (2024) & Franz Schubert (1824)
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Leotard Dress by Karen Young
Lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker
ISABELLA BOYLSTON CALVIN ROYAL III
American Ballet Theatre
SPENCER LENAIN MELISSA TOOGOOD
Piano: CAROLINE SHAW
BROOKLYN RIDER
Generously underwritten by Gina Browning & Joe Illick.
2025 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Music: Nobody’s by Ted Hearne
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Lighting by Clifton Taylor
JOSEPH GORDON
New York City Ballet
Violin: COLIN JACOBSEN
Generously Underwritten by Jody & John Arnhold.
2025 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Music: Bent mvt.1,2,3 by Philip Glass
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Assistant to the choreographer: Maile Okamura
Lighting by Clifton Taylor
Costumes by Maile Okamura
MIRA NADON CHLOE MISSELDINE
New York City Ballet American Ballet Theatre
SPENCER LENAIN
BROOKLYN RIDER
Generously Underwritten by Jody & John Arnhold.
2025 Vail Dance Festival World Premiere
Music: All My Trials by Joan Baez
Choreography by Pam Tanowitz
Lighting by Clifton Taylor
JOSEPH GORDON
New York City Ballet
Guitar and Vocals: KATE DAVIS
Generously Underwritten by Jody & John Arnhold.