DAMIAN's TAKE - EPISODE 1: Spring has just arrived, but the summer will be here soon! It’s been an exciting month of planning for the
2009 Vail International Dance Festival– and it promises to be the best season yet.
Two weeks ago in New York I saw
Savion Glover perform his latest show at the Joyce Theatre... it was simply spectacular! You won't want to miss Savion in his two different performances in Vail on July
27 and
28 – he is quite literally the best at what he does in the world, and after seeing him in action just now I can't wait to see him on our
stages this coming summer.
Chris Wheeldon and I having been talking about
Morphoses and how this year's residency in Vail will be even better than the last two. He is again bringing an all-star cast of dancers from all around the world to perform for us. They’ll take the stage at the
Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater for
Morphoses 3.0 on Friday, August
7. In addition, for a very special
UpClose evening on August
6, I have asked Chris and his company to join me in celebrating the uniquely gifted ballerina
Wendy Whelan. In celebration of her brilliant career, we are putting together an evening full of performances of the works that made her a star, with Wendy's own voice being heard on how she has become the inspiring artist she is. Wendy and I were students together at the School of American Ballet and have spent our careers in tandem. I am thrilled to be able to share with you the sides of this great dancer the audience never gets to see, and to put on this show honoring her magnificent dancing.
In Ballroom news, I heard from our
Ballroom's Best organizer and star Hanna Karttunen with casting updates for the
August 10 performance, which is selling out fast! You’ll be thrilled to know that among the new couples she is bringing this year are JT and Tomas, last years World Champions in the American Smooth Style. You might have recently seen them dancing brilliantly on PBS's American Ballroom Challenge, and you won't want to miss them on this years Ballroom Best showcase!
Tickets are already going fast for this show, which has sold out every year since we introduced it in 2006, so buy early to avoid the disappointment of missing the show in August!
One last thing: on our
Festival Highlights show on August 2, we are thrilled to have appearances by artists from
Morphoses,
Miami City Ballet and American Ballet Theater superstars Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy among others. But we are also going to have a performance by one of Vail's most treasured arts supporters: Argie Tang, fresh from her triumph conducting the New York Philharmonic last summer, will take to the stage with yours truly in a dance specially made for the occasion. We will be joined on stage by the children of our
Celebrate the Beat (CTB) dance education program.
Argie was the winning bidder on "Dancing with Damian" at the
Black Diamond Ball benefit auction last fall, and we decided nothing could be more perfect to than do our dance as part of the Celebrate the Beat program, which Argie loves so much and which is making such a difference for local children.
Since we introduced Celebrate the Beat as part of the 2007 festival, the program has expanded into the Eagle County school system both during the school year and in the summer. This spring, CTB is enriching the lives of over 1,300 kids as part of their school curriculum. The program is centered around inspirational music and dance, using the arts to teach children how to excel through teamwork and creativity. It's an amazing program, and you won't want to miss Argie and these incredible children on August 2 at the Ford Amphitheater.
I'll be giving you more news next month, until then be sure to check the website
www.vaildance.org for updates on the 2009 Festival.
All the best---
Damian Woetzel
* Damian’s Take is a unique, inside perspective on the Vail International Dance Festival authored by Festival Director Damian Woetzel. Check back often for regular Damian’s Take postings, which will offer exclusive updates with news, programming details, creative insight and much, much more as the July 27-August 11 event draws near.
