A brilliant cast of dancers from around the world takes the stage in these signature Festival performances. These unique gala evenings celebrate artistic collaboration and innovation, and include debuts and new partnerships by a selection of today’s foremost dancers.

The 2019 Vail Dance Festival presents a world premiere from legendary choreographer Alonzo King, with an original score by jazz pianist, composer and performance artist Jason Moran. This new work will be performed by a stellar cast of dancers drawn from King’s LINES Ballet and from New York City Ballet.Two performances only: International Evening II (8/3/2019) and NOW: Premieres (8/5/2019).

A brilliant cast of dancers from around the world takes the stage in these signature Festival performances. These unique gala evenings celebrate artistic collaboration and innovation, and include debuts and new partnerships by a selection of today’s foremost dancers.

This season’s UpClose performance explores the powerful relation of dance to the world we live in, focusing on how movement can create social impact. M.A.I. (Movement Art Is) co-founders Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer and choreographer Hope Boykin, and Artist-In-Residence Lauren Lovette, lead a cast of Festival stars in this UpClose rehearsal-style performance.

Elevate your evening by attending a pre-show reception and post-performance dinner with the dancers at the Splendido in Beaver Creek (tickets sold separately).

A favorite of Vail Dance Festival audiences, Philadelphia’s powerhouse company BalletX, led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, returns to present its first full-length story ballet by a female choreographer, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s The Little Prince. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s brilliant novella has inspired millions since its publication in 1943, and now the story is the inspiration for this new ballet, featuring new music composed and performed by Peter Salem.

Join the Vail Dance Festival for “Watching Balanchine, with Heather Watts” at the Manor Vail Lodge on Monday, July 29 at 12pm. Throughout the program Heather Watts will examine how Balanchine’s innovations, impact and musical approaches apply in the 21st century through an analysis of Balanchine’s ballets and using the lens’ of biography, context and form. Lunch will be provided.

Heather Watts joined New York City Ballet in 1970, and was one of the last of the famed Balanchine ballerinas. Watts worked closely with Balanchine and Jerome Robbins at NYCB, retiring from the stage in 1995. She has been a contributing editor at Vanity Fair since 1995, has created academic courses on Balanchine’s life and work at Harvard University, was a visiting Lecturer in Dance at Princeton University, and has led residencies at UC Santa Barbara. Watts was a fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU in 2014 and is currently an affiliate fellow there. She has received numerous awards, including a Doctorate honoris causa from Hunter College.

Founded in 2012, Malpaso has quickly become one of the most high-profile companies on the international scene. This exhilarating Cuban contemporary dance company makes its Vail Dance Festival debut this season with a performance at the Vilar Performing Arts Center, featuring works created especially for the young troupe by Ronald K. Brown and Sonya Tayeh. Malpaso is an Associate Company of Joyce Theater Productions.

Join the Vail Dance Festival on Saturday, July 27th to see the dancers of Malpaso Dance Company perform excerpts of their exhilarating Cuban contemporary dance repertory! You’ll even have a chance to learn some of the choreography! This is a special mid-day performance in the heart of Vail at the cross streets of Bridge and Gore in Vail Village at 12pm! Best of all, it’s FREE!

American Ballet Theatre returns to Vail after its sold-out Festival debut last year, with a program celebrating its heritage and future. This evening will feature masterworks from its repertory, danced by ABT’s magnificent artists along with special guests, proudly carrying on the company’s illustrious history while maintaining its distinct modern identity.

The 2019 Vail Dance Festival begins with an extraordinary evening featuring Festival stars including Artist-In-Residence and New York City Ballet ballerina Lauren Lovette, a preview appearance by Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, and artists from American Ballet Theatre. The evening concludes with a performance of George Balanchine’s Serenade, performed by Colorado Ballet with principal guest artists from the New York City Ballet, and music by the Breckenridge Festival Orchestra.