NOW: Premieres

Choreographers and composers come together for invigorating new works

By Sarah Silverblatt-Buser

New has always been the normal for NOW: Premieres, an entire evening dedicated to presenting never-before-seen work. Commissioned musical compositions accompany a host of new dances, ranging in genre from neo-classical and contemporary ballet, to tap, modern, and jookin. This year promises an invigorating celebration of creative collaboration to close the Festival on August 9.

Herman Cornejo rehearsing Justin Peck’s rise wait climb through in 2018. Photo by Erin Baiano. Lil Buck and Caroline Shaw rehearsing backstage in 2019. Photo by Erin Baiano.

In response to the many hardships of political change.” The new work will feature Christina Courtin’s “This Is America” 2020, Festival regular and Grammy-award dancers of various genres, affirming the composition will accompany a collaboration winning violinist Johnny Gandelsman artists’ commitment to creating space for between Lil Buck and Lauren Lovette. Both commissioned a project to highlight the unexpected harmonies. dancers are known for their virtuosity rich cultural tapestry of America’s United Fellow MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and emotional depth on stage. As States. “This Is America” features twenty- Tyshawn Sorey, will compose music for choreographers, they each attend to the two new works for solo violin produced by power of dance to uplift, question, and twelve presenters nationally, including the potentially transform our experience of the Vail Dance Festival. Gandelsman interprets world. Courtin, a Juilliard-trained singerintimate reflections on the songwriter and violinist, state of our country with describes guiding her composers from across the listeners through a landscape country. He will perform three “When someone is speaking to your spirit of emotions, from “somber of these works to accompany plains and heartbreak” to premieres by Michelle through dance, that sticks. It’s knowing feelings of “warmth, joy, Dorrance, Jamar Roberts, and and hope.” a collaboration by Lil Buck that it’s not just for entertainment, but that Lovette demonstrates and Lauren Lovette. an “urgency” in her “desire

Building on musical dance can really be used as a tool to help to turn ballet inside out,” partnerships established (The New York Times). The during past Festivals, Justin bring change about the world.” versatile principal dancer Peck and Tiler Peck (no recently announced her relation) will each create new —Lil Buck, Memphis Jooker upcoming departure from dances to music by Pulitzer- New York City Ballet in winning Leonard Bernstein order to further pursue her Composer-In-Residence choreographic career. Lil Caroline Shaw. Cleo Parker Robinson and Jamar Roberts, Alvin Ailey American Dance Buck’s creative career has also expanded James Whiteside will also present world Theater’s first resident choreographer. The as co-founder of Movement Art Is. The premieres. rapidly rising dance maker will create work nonprofit uses dance to address issues of

Tap dancer extraordinaire Michelle on Company-In-Residence BalletX with social injustice and was recently featured on Dorrance will choreograph in collaboration Artist-In-Residence Calvin Royal III as guest. the Netflix series Moves. “When someone is with her dancers to music by Rhiannon Cooped, a recent work created by Roberts speaking to your spirit through dance, that Giddens, the Grammy-award winning co- and commissioned by Guggenheim Works sticks,” he says. “It’s knowing that it’s not founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. and Process, was praised as “one of the just for entertainment, but that dance can Both MacArthur “genius” grant recipients, most powerful artistic responses yet to the really be used as a tool to help bring change Dorrance and Giddens work in performance COVID-19 crises” (The New York Times). about the world.” mediums that are uniquely American in Roberts describes his relationship to Dance as a mechanism to change society their complex histories - tap dance and music as essential to his creative process. has driven Denver-based choreographer Americana music have long represented a After “feeling the score on a deep level,” Cleo Parker Robinson for 51 years. The legacy of resiliency and transformation. he continues by “looking at the world in highly lauded Colorado cultural figure will

Both artists work to amplify forgotten which we live, and then looking at how we create a new work around the theme of unity voices and to honor those who paved the as a society are getting along in it.” It is and renewal in the face of a year of isolation way before them. Giddens describes her art fitting that his premiere will be joined by and polarization. Parker Robinson’s as a means to “excavate the past and reveal Sorey, whose new searching meditations on illustrious career includes a collaboration bold truths about our present.” Dorrance, society are hailed as his “most expressive with renowned poet Dr. Maya Angelou and whose “crux of inspiration is music,” affirms and powerful music yet” (The New York receiving the Colorado Governor’s Award tap as a “powerful vehicle for social and Times Magazine). for Excellence in the Arts.

“Let the world dance,” Parker Robinson top of a remarkably prolific year despite American Ballet Theatre principal James says after recalling the similarities theater closures. In March 2020, Whiteside is another dancer who refused to of today’s struggles to the days she had just returned from a slow down during the pandemic. Known for growing up under segregation as potentially career-ending neck his technical prowess as much as his drama the daughter of a White injury. Within weeks, the and humor, the dancer, choreographer, singer, woman and a Black ballerina found herself and drag queen constantly pursues new ways man. Rooted in dance teaching Instagram of expressing himself. By the end of 2020, honoring the African “The joy of life is classes to thousands he recorded an album and wrote a book in Diaspora, she describes of students across addition to extensively training his body for the function of dance “to really discovering the the world, producing the rigorous demands of ballet. celebrate and to renew, to online performances, Whiteside, who is part of the Festival’s stop any regression,” and harmony together.” working with renowned Empowering Boys in Dance project, is asserts that the “joy of choreographers William vocal in supporting young people embrace life is really discovering —Cleo Parker Robinson Forsythe and Alonzo who they are and the passions they love. the harmony together.” King, choreographed, Dance Magazine described him as having

Committed to and even making social “redefined the modern male principal by collective discovery, media dance videos with simply being himself.” His dances are Tony-award winning choreographer Justin actress Jennifer Garner. “I couldn’t miss at once athletic and tender, and often Peck makes work that creates space anything again!” says Peck, when describing question assumptions around gender and for processing contemporary life. Peck her mindset over the past year. relationships. has choreographed over 40 new works, Peck used music by Caroline Shaw Despite a year of global crisis and including dances for Steven Spielberg’s for her last work in Vail after being accompanying darkened theaters, upcoming film adaptation of West Side introduced the artists of Story. As resident choreographer of New by Artistic the Vail Dance York City Ballet, Peck refers closely to his Director Festival have roots in classicism while pushing ballet Damian “It’s like a puzzle…It’s music persisted in forward to better represent the 21st century. Woetzel. She creating work

The choreographer returns to Vail to also credits that needs to be danced to.” to reflect on the create a new work on New York City Ballet Woetzel, world in which principal Tiler Peck and American Ballet along with —Tiler Peck, we live. NOW: Theatre principal Herman Cornejo to Balanchine Premieres on music by Caroline Shaw. His architectural ballerina New York City Ballet Principal Dancer August 9 is an creations seem to physically synthesize Heather Watts, opportunity Shaw’s musical compositions; Shaw was for encouraging to hear these a student of architecture herself. Striving her to take varied voices to reflect current times and propose new her first choreographic leap. Peck’s from across the United States. It is a chance possibilities, Peck’s premiere reimagines famously nuanced dancing is reflected to join together in celebration of creativity the concept of the traditional pas de deux. in her intuitively musical choreography, with hope for the future. 

Tiler Peck joins the evening not only drawing her again to Shaw’s music. “It’s like as dancer, but also as choreographer. a puzzle…,” she says, “It’s music that needs to The ever curious collaborator builds on be danced to.”