Emerging Artist Fund established at Vail Dance Festival

The nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation recently announced details on the new Heather Watts Emerging Artist Fund, established to support the Vail Dance Festival’s ongoing commitment to supporting rising stars in dance. The fund has been created with the help of loyal Vail Dance Committee member Jonna Mackin, Ph.D. The festival, which concluded its 36th season earlier this past August, is a world-renowned destination for acclaimed artists and emerging talent in both dance and music across diverse genres and styles. The fund is named in honor of Heather Watts, the legendary Balanchine ballerina and influential creative collaborator for the annual summer dance event and often described by Vail Dance Festival artistic director Damian Woetzel as “the heart and soul of our festival.” 

A pioneering ballerina for George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins at the New York City Ballet, Heather Watts has made extraordinary contributions to the world of dance throughout her continuing career, including at the Vail Dance Festival over many seasons. As a dancer, Watts broke boundaries and, with Balanchine’s guidance, redefined what a modern ballerina could be. Similarly, in her work as an educator, she has opened new pathways for young artists to find their distinctive voices. Since 2006, in addition to leading the efforts to establish the Celebrate the Beat program in Vail, a free dance and education initiative for Eagle County students, Watts has been instrumental in bringing emerging artists from across disciplines to the festival, supporting their development and often launching their careers, including New York City Ballet star Roman Mejia, street dance phenomenon Lil Buck, rising New York City Ballet dancer Olivia Bell and stage and social media presence Spencer Lenain, among many others.

“Heather Watts’ important work of supporting young artists at the Vail Dance Festival is a seamless connection to her many contributions to the field of dance,” said Jonna Mackin, Ph.D., long-time Vail Dance Festival committee member who spearheaded the creation of the Heather Watts Emerging Artist Fund. “From her groundbreaking career at New York City Ballet, to her expansive role at the Vail Dance Festival, Heather has influenced countless artists across diverse backgrounds and artistic disciplines for decades. It is a tremendous joy to launch this fund with the Vail Valley Foundation to help ensure that her legacy continues to inspire and touch the hearts of artists and audiences alike, here in Vail and around the world,” Mackin said.

“For 18 years, Heather has played a critical role in the Vail Dance Festival and provided leadership focused on nurturing festival artists at every step of their dance career as well as supporting the work of dance appreciation with our audiences and communities throughout the Vail Valley,” said Martha Brassel, senior director of development for the Vail Dance Festival. “We are so grateful for the leadership contribution of Jonna Mackin and her vision of creating this fund in Heather’s honor to support her influential legacy within our festival for years to come.”

The Heather Watts Emerging Artist Fund has been set up as a board of directors restricted fund that will provide much needed annual financial support to continue supporting new artists in the field at the highest level of quality and excellence. The fund will be used for the scouting and recruitment of emerging or pre-professional artists to join the Vail Dance Festival as guest artists or as scholars-in-residence and will also be used to support the staging of groundbreaking works of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins leading into and during the Vail Dance Festival.

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If you would like to contribute to the Heather Watts Emerging Artist Fund, you may do so online at VailDance.org or by contacting Martha Brassel at MBrassel@vvf.org.