Lauren Lovette to be Artist in Residence at Vail Dance Festival

The New York Times reported that Lauren Lovette, principal of the New York City Ballet and part-time choreographer, will assume the role of Artist in Residence at Vail Dance Festival this summer.

Roslyn Sulcas wrote for the Times:

Damian Woetzel, who has directed the festival since 2007, said he believed in nurturing talent over multiple seasons. “Having Lauren Lovette as our artist in residence, will build on her years at the festival dancing new roles, breaking new choreographic ground and experiencing new challenges,” he said in an email.

Referring to “the historic inequality of opportunity for female choreographers,” Mr. Woetzel, who is also the president of the Juilliard School, said he had been “working at this issue for many years in Vail, and in my other work as well.”

Mr. Woetzel also continues to commission work. This year’s new pieces include dances by the contemporary choreographer Hope Boykin to a score by Caroline Shaw, the festival’s Leonard Bernstein composer in residence and will feature Ms. Lovette; a piece by Alonzo King set to a score by the jazz musician Jason Moran; a work by Pam Tanowitz, also set to music by Ms. Shaw; and works from the jookin’ artist Lil Buck, the tap choreographer Michelle Dorrance, the City Ballet principal Tiler Peck and Ms. Lovette.

DDP celebrates this news and hopes to see more women appointed to similar residencies. The position at Vail is a renowned one in the dance community and will no doubt lead to more commissions for Lovette in the coming seasons. She has already created works on her home company of New York City Ballet and has a history performing and choreographing during the Vail Festival.

This exciting news is sure to make the festival scene brighter and more inclusive this summer. The off-season is known to promote equity, with the Joyce Theater’s Ballet Festival boasting an inclusive program last summer and Isabella Boylston’s Ballet Sun Valley successfully commencing in 2018.

Read the New York Times article on this news here.