Opening Night
Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater
Avon, Colo., Oct. 18, 2021 – Vail Dance Festival stars and collaborators reunite this weekend in New York at City Center’s 18th annual Fall for Dance Festival to present signature works that were created and premiered here in Vail. The New York dance festival, which began last week and continues through Oct. 24, launched the post-lockdown re-opening of City Center for live performances in five unique programs—each featuring three different groups of artists and companies.
“Under Damian Woetzel’s leadership, the Vail Dance Festival has fostered a legacy of innovation and collaboration between some of the brightest stars in the dance world, producing nearly 100 new works since the beginning of Woetzel’s tenure as Artistic Director” said Sarah Johnson, Vail Valley Foundation’s Senior Vice President of Philanthropy and Vail Dance Festival. “Many of the dances created here in Vail live on in company repertoire and festivals around the world and we are proud to share them with a wider audience in New York and beyond.”
Here is a look at the upcoming Vail Dance Festival appearances at Fall for Dance:
Thursday, Oct. 21 and Friday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. | Program 4
Lil Buck will perform “38109” as part of an evening lineup that also includes recent 2021 Vail Dance Festival Company-in-Residence BalletX, in addition to Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. “38109” made its world-premiere at the 2018 Vail Dance Festival and features music created for the dance by the Vail Dance Festival’s Composer-in-Residence Caroline Shaw. “38109” at Fall for Dance will be a New York premiere.
Saturday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. | Program 5
The weekend schedule will include two Vail Dance Festival commissioned works. Up first, New York City Ballet’s Roman Mejia will light up the stage in “Fandango” choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky. The Spanish-infused solo made its debut at the 2010 Vail Dance Festival featuring Wendy Whelan, and was then danced by Sara Mearns in Vail in 2015, and again in 2016 in New York for “Vail Dance Festival: Remix NYC.” In 2019, Artistic Director Damian Woetzel suggested to Ratmansky that New York City Ballet’s Roman Mejia take on “Fandango”— he made his debut in the role in Vail that summer, and will now be featured in it at Fall for Dance this weekend. Set to music by Luigi Boccherini, Mejia will be joined on stage by Vail Dance Festival’s Quartet-in-Residence Brooklyn Rider, guitarist and Juilliard DMA candidate Alberta Khoury, and tap dancer Dario Natarelli on percussion.
Also on the same program will be the New York premiere of “Bloom” choreographed by New York City Ballet Resident Choreographer and Tony Award-winner Justin Peck, to a commissioned score by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Caroline Shaw. This new duet features the cross-company pairing of New York City Ballet’s Tiler Peck and American Ballet Theatre’s Herman Cornejo, and is a reflection on George Balanchine’s iconic “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux.” “Bloom” made its world premiere this past summer in Vail and is co-commissioned by New York City Center.
“I am so pleased to see these works migrate from the Rocky Mountains to the New York City Center stage,” said Damian Woetzel. “What takes place when artists collaborate in Vail each summer is a kind of creative alchemy, and it is very exciting to have Lil Buck, Roman, Tiler and Herman sharing these dances with the audience back home here in New York.”
New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival continues through October 23. Tickets can be purchased online at NYCityCenter.org, by calling 212.581.1212, or in person at the City Center Box Office. New York City Center is located at 131 W 55th St between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
About New York City Center
City Center has played a defining role in the cultural life of the New York since 1943. Manhattan’s first performing arts center, City Center was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia with the mission of making the best in music, theater, and dance accessible to all audiences. Under the current leadership of President & CEO, Arlene Shuler, this commitment continues today through celebrated dance and musical theater series including the Fall for Dance Festival, the Tony-honored Encores! and Encores! Off-Center, and the newest series Artists at the Center and City Center Dance Festival. The distinctive neo-Moorish theater welcomes over 300,000 annual visitors to experience internationally acclaimed artists on the same stage where legends like George Balanchine, Leonard Bernstein, Barbara Cook, José Ferrer, Martha Graham, and Paul Robeson made their mark. Home to a roster of renowned national and international companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center’s Principal Dance Company, and Manhattan Theatre Club, City Center’s dynamic programming, art exhibitions, studio events, and master classes, are complemented by education and community engagement programs that bring the performing arts to over 11,000 New York City students, teachers, and families each year. NYCityCenter.org.
Major Support for Fall for Dance is provided by Jody and John Arnhold. Major Support for dance at New York City Center is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Support for the Arts Access Fund is provided by the JLGreene Arts Access Fund in The New York Community Trust, the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, and the William and Dewey Edelman Charitable Trust. City Center is also grateful to Presenting Partners Perry and Marty Granoff, Caroline Howard Hyman, Denise R. Sobel, and Barbara and David Zalaznick. Additional support for Fall for Dance Festival is provided by The Shubert Foundation, Joyce F. Menschel, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc., and The SHS Foundation. Support for new dance works at New York City Center is provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
About the Vail Dance Festival
Established in 1989 and held each July-August, the Vail Dance Festival makes the Vail Valley one of the top summer dance destinations in the world. Hosted by the Vail Valley Foundation, and led by Artistic Director Damian Woetzel, the Vail Dance Festival brings a wide range of extraordinary dancers and musicians to Vail and features new works, collaborations, education initiatives, free community events, and a host of programs that welcome all to enjoy the world of dance.
About the Vail Valley Foundation
The Vail Valley Foundation is a 501c3 Colorado nonprofit corporation with a mission to enhance the quality of life in the Vail Valley and showcase our community to a global audience through arts, athletics and education.
The organization’s work in education is through YouthPower365, a 501c3 Colorado nonprofit corporation with a mission to provide year-round extended learning opportunities that empower and educate the youth and families of Eagle County from cradle-to-career readiness. The Vail Valley Foundation also provides the Vail Valley with several of its most treasured annual events, such as the GoPro Mountain Games, the Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup races, the Vail Dance Festival, and the Hot Summer Nights and ShowDown Town free concert series’. The Vail Valley Foundation also manages and operates two performing arts centers, the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek Village and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, providing more than 100 Broadway, dance, comedy, classical, rock, pop, jazz, community and family events per year.
Vail Valley Foundation activities and events are in part made possible by cornerstone partners: the Town of Vail, Vail Resorts, Beaver Creek Resort Company, GMC, Nature Valley, Pacifico, and TIAA Bank.
To learn more about the Vail Valley Foundation activities and events visit www.vvf.org.
Vail Dance Festival Media contact:
Joel Solari, Public Relations Manager
jsolari@vvf.org
312.678.7568
New York City Center Media contact:
Sara García, Communications & Marketing Coordinator
SGarcia@NYCityCenter.org
212.763.1288
Joe Guttridge, Communications & Editorial Director
JGuttridge@NYCityCenter.org
212.763.1279