A conversation with Damian Woetzel, former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and The Juilliard School’s seventh president。
In May, The Juilliard School announced that Damian Woetzel ’81 would take the helm as its seventh president beginning July 2018。 达米安是一位国际知名的舞蹈家,曾在纽约城市芭蕾舞团担任首席舞者20年,目前担任阿斯彭学院艺术项目总监和韦尔舞蹈节艺术总监。 He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, was a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School, and served on the President’s Committee on the 艺术 and Humanities from 2009 to 2017。
Damian recently shared his reflections with 贝博体育app Magazine on what helped him determine his path as a dancer, and what it’s like to move from the life of a performer to the world of producing, teaching, and educational outreach。
这是我经常思考的问题,教育工作者应该灵活地认识到真正有价值的经验。 When we offer children a diversity of educational experiences, it can open the doors to new opportunities, because if children don’t get the chance to peek around the door, they might never know what they’re missing。
我经常问自己“如果”这个问题。 If I hadn’t been introduced to dance, or allowed to dance, it would have been very strange because I was a very natural dancer, and it was really suited to me。 如果我一生都不知道我能做一些我非常适合的事情呢?
我仍然是一个周转艺术家。 I have two schools that I regularly visit—Orchard Gardens in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and one on the Northern Cheyenne reservation in Lame Deer, Montana。 In addition to providing a mentor to each school, the program offers support, whether it's professional development, providing music instruments, a music teacher, or art supplies。 It has been an amazing experience and an honor to participate。
You’re always involved in a new production venture, whether it’s co-founding the New Essential Works Program, serving as artistic director for the Vail International 跳舞 Festival, or producing lil’ Buck@Le Poisson Rouge。 是什么促使你寻找如此多样化的制作机会?
我认为这是我在茱莉亚音乐学院的新角色中最令人兴奋的方面之一。 This is the creative person’s dream, with students of music, dance, and drama all under the same roof, all looking to their futures。 有机会看到这些学科是如何
A recent 纽约时报 article mentioned that you are interested in preparing a new generation for the “DIY world,” where they must create their own opportunities。 How do you think the role of the artist is changing or needs to change for today’s world?
这是我确实注意到的,尽管我也认为我们不是第一代这样做的人。 我想,在很多历史时期,人们都用了各种各样的方法把演出公诸于众,但现在尤其如此,我注意到我的年轻朋友们都在自己创造机会。 他们正在进行有趣的合作。 他们self-producing。 They're using video and technology and the Internet in ways that sometimes work and sometimes don't, but it's always about finding a new venue of sorts and redefining what “venue” even means。 I love that we’re rethinking these ideas。 是什么构成了一场表演? Is it enough simply to say that you’re the audience and we’re the performers, and you have to watch us or listen to us?