Each year, Vail, CO, known primarily for its ski and snowboard prowess, becomes a summer camp for dance stars when it hosts the Vail Dance Festival for 13 days of superior dance artistry. Under the direction of Damian Woetzel, the festival brings together companies and freelance artists from all over the country to collaborate, create and perform in the beauty of the mountains. This year, for the first time, the festival welcomes two co-artists-in-residence, dancer Sara Mearns of New York City Ballet and prolific independent choreographer Jamar Roberts. Dance Informa chatted with both artists about what excites them about this role, the work they’ll be making and why Vail Dance Festival weaves magic into the everyday.
This isn’t your first time at Vail Dance Festival, and I’m sure you’ve both done residencies before. Is this the first time you’ve ever been in more of a leadership role? What does a choreographic artist-in-residence look like, and how did it come about?
Sara Mearns
“This is the first time I’ve been singled out in this way, so that’s very cool. Damian called me to talk about what I wanted to do at Vail this year, and said he thought I would be good as an artist-in-residence. I thought he was joking. There are so many other people that have a much bigger social media presence, marketing and all this stuff. That’s what people look for these days when they make decisions like this at every big institution. And I just don’t have that compared to a lot of other people. But he said, ‘No, it’s not about that. We want to honor you and what you’ve done.'”
Jamar Roberts
“I don’t think I’ve seen in years past where they have done choreographer artist-in-residence. I could be wrong, but most of the time, they’re always dancers. So what does it entail? I assume they’ll feature some of my work from the past, probably small excerpts. I’ll do some interviews, masterclasses and create a new work while I’m there.”
For both of you, this will be the first time working together. How do you feel about the dancer/choreographer collaboration?
Roberts
“It’s very exciting. I always get to work with someone I’ve never worked with before at Vail, but this year it’ll be Sara who I’ve admired from afar but have never been in the studio actually creating with her. I set a piece on New York City Ballet a few years ago, so we’ve talked a bit but never for long! I can tell you the piece with Sara expounds on a trio that Damian had me create on the spot for the last festival.”
Mearns
“I just know that I’m going to work with him. We’ve admired each other from afar for many, many years. I was obsessed with him when he was an Ailey. But I don’t know what it’s going to be. And that’s exciting to me. I sometimes don’t even want know. I just want to walk in the studio and be a sponge. You can’t come in with a set way of doing things. If you really want to make something great or special or interesting, you have to meet the other person where they are every single day, and you have to leave your ego at the door. They’ll meet you there as well, and you’ll come together in this way.”
It seems like there’s a bit of magic embedded in the Vail Dance Festival experience. Can you each share a little about if you’ve felt that and in what way?
Mearns
“You have this long drive in the mountains, and you arrive at this place in the middle of nowhere. All of the sudden, the air is clear. You can feel the nature, you can see it. You can sit and just be in it, and it’s silent. I just fall in love with the peace of being there and the peace it gave my body and my mind, and I was able to focus completely on the work.”
Roberts
“It’s peaceful. It’s quiet, and I’m a fan of peace and quiet. It also allows me time to process my thoughts, because when you’re always on the go, you don’t really always get the mental space. As much as I know I’ll be working there, it’ll also be a respite from the daily grind I’m normally in. I feel like we’re closer to the sky there, too. You’re closer to weather forming, and the starts are a little brighter.”
Vail Dance Festival runs from July 26-August 5, will feature a host of companies and artists in addition to Sara Mearns and Jamar Roberts, and undoubtably spread some peace and magic to those in attendance.
For more information, visit vaildance.org.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
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