Fans of the intrepid New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns and of the distinguished choreographer Jamar Roberts might want to mark their calendars. This year, they will be artists in residence at the Vail Dance Festival. Both will teach master classes and participate in community events, and Mearns will perform in a range of works, including debuts in George Balanchine’s “Elegie” and a new piece by Roberts.

The festival, July 26 to Aug. 5 in Vail, Colo., …

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New work has always been an important element of the Vail Dance Festival: Since becoming artistic director in 2007, Damian Woetzel has commissioned over 100 pieces. This year, 10 choreographers and four composers will create new works for an eclectic assortment of performers. They include the American Ballet Theater principals Calvin Royal III, Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside; the jookin star Lil Buck; the New York City Ballet principals Sara Mearns, Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia; the contemporary dancer Melissa Toogood; and the former City Ballet principals Lauren Lovette and Robbie Fairchild.

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“As we get ready to launch into season 2021, we’re going to have a big backlog of information and excitement to actually get back on stage, to do some things that are really about reunion, about that idea that we are back together and taking full advantage of that,” – Damian Woetzel, Artistic Director

For 2021, with the action back on real stages, there will be plenty of fresh work. Seven dance pieces are set to premiere, along with four new commissioned scores. That’s a lot to pack into 11 days, but as Artistic Director Damian Woetzel notes, there is some catching up to do.

Calvin Royal III will be the artist in residence at this year’s Vail Dance Festival, the festival announced on Wednesday. Royal, a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater, was announced as last year’s artist in residence, but didn’t take up his appointment when the pandemic obliged the festival to cancel live performances and show work online.

Calvin Royal III, the American Ballet Theater soloist who has had star turns in classics like Balanchine’s “Apollo,” will be the artist in residence at this year’s Vail Dance Festival, which was announced on Tuesday.

“It’s a leadership role of a sort,” Damian Woetzel, the festival’s artistic director, said in an interview. “Being an artist in residence is more than simply what you see on the stage. It’s got elements that I’m excited about for Calvin as an artist and as a leader.”

For the last few years, the American Ballet Theater soloist Calvin Royal III, 30, has been on the cusp of stardom. Some of his most interesting challenges have actually come during the summers, in three stints at the Vail Dance Festival. This summer, he got his first stab at one of the most desirable roles of all: the lead in George Balanchine’s “Apollo,” a ballet about a young god in training, testing his powers. At Vail, he danced with Unity Phelan, a New York City Ballet soloist.

When the “Good Morning America” host laughed at the idea of Prince George studying ballet, the dance world went online to educate her.

When the Vail International Dance Festival proposed to Alonzo King that he choreograph a new work featuring four members of his San Francisco company, Lines Ballet, and four from New York City Ballet, he knew just what he needed: a partner. For Mr. King, that had to be the jazz pianist Jason Moran. This summer, as part of the Vail festival, which opens on July 26, the pair will present the premiere of their latest collaboration. So far, it doesn’t have a title.

The New York City Ballet principal Lauren Lovette will be this year’s artist in residence at the Vail Dance Festival, heading a female-centric lineup of choreographers and a boldface list of star dancers, the festival announced on Thursday.

“Is the sociology of the dance world changing? The last two years have brought many more commissions for female choreographers.

English National Ballet made a splash in 2016 with an entire program of new choreography by women. And this year’s “NOW: Premieres” program at the Vail Dance Festival here was subtitled ‘Celebrating Women Choreographers.’ Does this sound like mere tokenism? It’s worth pointing out that all four of these female dance-makers — Michelle Dorrance (this year’s artist in residence), Lauren Lovette, Claudia Schreier and Pam Tanowitz — have worked at the festival before.”…

“Since the two galalike signature events of the annual Vail Dance Festival were star-studded, it’s tempting to survey them just by dropping names. After all, on Friday here, Misty Copeland (never more mettlesome) and Marcelo Gomes (richly smoldering) danced Twyla Tharp’s “Sinatra Suite,” followed by Misa Kuranaga (lightly brilliant) and Herman Cornejo (panache itself) in the war horse “Don Quixote” pas de deux.

Saturday’s program ended with Tiler Peck dancing George Balanchine’s “Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux” with Jeffrey Cirio. Dazzling and charming artists both, they reached fresh peaks here; Ms. Peck (of New York City Ballet), in particular, has reached new zones of subtle artistry and breathtaking speed.”…

“In quantity and quality, the lineup of world-class dancers who perform at the Vail International Dance Festival is as awe-inspiring as this town’s alpine scenery. But choreographers on the same level are a rarer species.”

“The lineup was certainly dazzling: stars from City Ballet and American Ballet Theater but also some of the world’s greatest exponents of other forms, from modern (Matthew Rushing) to tango (Gabriel Missé) to kuchipudi (Shantala Shivalingappa) to Memphis jookin (Lil Buck). Yet what made the programs special was Mr. Woetzel’s way of balancing the surefire and crowd-pleasing with novelty and risk.”

“The path to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater here in this Rocky Mountain resort town primes the ear with sounds of nature. But on Tuesday, it was the sound of shoes on wooden platforms that kept the audience rapt for nearly three-quarters of an hour.”

“Damian Woetzel, impressively ambitious, has been making dance history for 10 years in Vail, Colo. As artistic director of the two-week Vail International Dance Festival, he assembles each August a top-class gathering of performers in multiple genres. No single program is performed twice. World premieres by front-rank choreographers (notably Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon) occur. So do unexpected partnerships between dancers from different companies and far-apart disciplines.”