New York gets a taste of Vail’s adventurous spirit
Beneath the Moorish, mosaicked ceilings of New York City Center, East Coasters attending Vail Dance Festival: ReMix NYC experienced the exceptional selections of dance and music that have come to define summers in Vail. Year-round Manhattanites enjoyr stellar dance performances in a city that brings the best the world has to offer to the stage and boasts its own world-class companies. But the first days of November left even the most seasoned dance enthusiasts swept up by the expansive artistic vision to which Vail dance-goers are accustomed.
“Action-packed, stylistically eclectic and with deluxe casting,” praised The New York Times chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay of the thoughtfully constructed programs. In his 2016 year-end dance review, the critic singled out Sara Mearns’ ReMix performance of Alexie Ratmansky’s Fandago, stating “we’re lucky to live in times that produce creations and performances of this ilk.”
Like the Festival in Vail, each night was as dynamic as it was exceptional, with a repertory built off of 10 years of programming under the artistic direction of Damian Woetzel.
“I found it particularly exciting to see the music and dance come together in the historic space at City Center,” reflected Woetzel. “It was thrilling to premiere pieces created in Vail, but unseen in New York, and then on the same program to present Balanchine’s 1928 Apollo on the stage where New York City Ballet performed it in the 1950s.”
Apollo was presented in its seldom-seen original version, depicting the birth of the god, and was made complete with Kurt Crowley, Music Director of Broadway’s Hamilton and the Festival’s first Music Director, leading a full orchestra in Stravinsky’s invigorating score.
Live music added extra energy to an already dazzling lineup of dancers. Yo-Yo Ma, who first accompanied Lil Buck playing Camille Saint-Saens’s The Swan in a now-viral video, reunited with the jooker for a Jookin’ Jam Session, and was joined by a collection of musicians, including members of the Silk Road Ensemble, the Catalyst Quartet, and Kate Davis.
Witnessing partnerships first cultivated in Vail was another highlight for New York audiences. Among many, one remarkable moment was the reuniting of Ron “Prime Tyme” Myles and Fang-Yi Sheu, whose exquisite Anywhere on this Road exemplifies the adventurous, collaborative spirit that is central to the Festival’s identity.
When asked if audiences can look forward to new iterations of Vail Dance Festival: ReMix NYC, Woetzel hinted that the happening was “designed and even titled with the anticipation of taking this to other cities.”