Woetzel, left, with jookin’ stars Charles “Lil Buck” Riley and Ron “Prime Tyme” Myles at the VIDF

This month, former New York City Ballet principal Damian Woetzel receives Harvard University’s Arts Medal. While still dancing for NYCB, Woetzel earned a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He now directs the Vail International Dance Festival, where he’s introduced innovative programming and created unlikely pairings: ballet dancers with modern dance choreographers and Indian dance with Memphis jookin’. Woetzel is a highly visible ambassador for the arts, lecturing at Harvard Law School and sitting on President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. —Alyssa Marks

Woetzel with NYCB principal Tiler Peck

Photos from top: by Patrick Fraser, courtesy of VIDF; by Erin Baiano, courtesy of Vail International Dance Festival