The chance to work on Broadway choreography as opposed to having to deliver Broadway choreography can be two distinct things. – Damian Woetzel
I haven’t fallen that much, but when I have, it’s usually in the attempt to do something worthwhile. As for recovery, you just have to get up! – Damian Woetzel
The last time I had to make a career decision, I was 17. I could have gone to Ballet Theatre or National Ballet of Canada. There were options. But as I became exposed to the Robbins repertoire, I realized that there was a living genius in the house. – Damian Woetzel
When I was about 12, I was studying Chinese and ballet with my brother, and one morning Jonathan said to me, ‘I don’t think I’m going to go to ballet class anymore,’ and I looked at him and said, ‘You know, I don’t think I’m going to go to Chinese class anymore.’ – Damian Woetzel
If I see somebody dancing really well, it can make me want to dance. Or it could be the music. But perhaps the thing I miss the most is that when you’re dancing, everyday concerns vanish. It’s a unique world. – Damian Woetzel
Dancing was one of the hobbies my brother and I had when we were kids, and dance ended up being the one that stuck. I dropped everything else until that was what was left in the end. – Damian Woetzel
I frequently go to the ballet, but I don’t miss it in the sense that I wish I were still dancing. – Damian Woetzel
I traveled so much to dance that I feel a part of many places, but New York is where I spent most of my life and where my career has been – it’s the place where I exist. – Damian Woetzel
The retirement timing is always a tricky thing for a dancer. I think it’s different for everyone. How you say goodbye to the thing you have really focused on that much is a tough one. I’ve always intended to leave in good shape, to exit on a high note. – Damian Woetzel
I’m going to do some consulting for nonprofits and arts agencies. These are areas I’m interested in that didn’t come directly out of Harvard, but certainly I started looking at things in a different manner. – Damian Woetzel
Fulfilling your mission is one thing; vision is another, and having a commitment to something leads you to do better work. – Damian Woetzel
The challenge is maintaining your interest over a long career, as opposed to pushing hard with no longevity. I’m surprised that I’ve been able to dance as long as I have. – Damian Woetzel
I strive to create new opportunities in terms of partnerships and new works being presented and things you haven’t seen anywhere else. Also to help you see old things in ways you haven’t seen them before. – Damian Woetzel
There are a lot of possibilities I’m looking at for the future, but I’m very insistent on not limiting myself. – Damian Woetzel
Where a city is only focused on one aspect, it becomes a city without a soul, not a city people want to live in. – Damian Woetzel
In schools giving students a full education, not to create great artists but about the right to have full expression and imagination and creativity, along with an acknowledgement that everybody learns differently. You try and you fail and you try again. All those skills are useful in the workplace, too. – Damian Woetzel
I have long been interested in exploring and advancing the valuable relationships between the arts and society. – Damian Woetzel
I like that feeling of letting loose, of not planning every step. The best performances are the ones that you just let happen. – Damian Woetzel
We say arts education is good for general education, but that’s not the point. The arts are what great nations are remembered for. They are a mirror. – Damian Woetzel
As a dancer running around the world, I always questioned whether that’s what I wanted to do. – Damian Woetzel