Damian Woetzel

Director, Arts Program, The Aspen Institute; Artistic Director, Vail International Dance Festival

Damian Woetzel is director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, artistic director of the Vail Dance Festival, director of the DEMO series at the Kennedy Center, and is active as an independent director and producer. These and other arts leadership roles follow a 20-year career as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Woetzel served for eight years on President Obama’s Committee on Arts and Humanities (PCAH), where he worked to create the national Turnaround Arts education program. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and was awarded the Harvard Arts Medal in 2015. In July 2018, Woetzel becomes president of the Juilliard School.