Damian Woetzel and I have made it our quest to capture as much behind-the-scenes action as possible at the Vail International Dance Festival each year I’ve been festival videographer. We set up interviews with dancers and choreographers, film rehearsals and performances, and the documentary we made The Altitude of Dance debuted on Rocky Mountain PBS.

We had not yet dug deep into a really special part of the festival, however, so last summer we filmed a lot more dance footage surrounding Vail’s International Evenings and the dance coaching that goes on by Damian and Heather Watts within those programs.

Damian & Heather’s expert coaching hasn’t received that much focus, but it’s so unique to Vail that these dancers aren’t just coming to the mountains with their newest dance and performing it – they’re being coached by two of the best ballet dancers in the world. It’s really a part of Damian’s mission that he doesn’t want this to be another gala-type series of performances. He wants there to be an experience, to be learning and investigation… This dance video is not just showing the International Evenings programs of last summer; it’s giving people an insider’s look into what this festival is about.