How Damian Woetzel jeté-ed his way from ballet phenom to head of The Juilliard School

Damian Woetzel got addicted to dance when he was 11 years old. While his “dirty secret” is that ballet was never that hard for him, his experience as a young boy in the world of dance wasn’t always easy.

In this episode, Damian takes us backstage on his remarkable journey from being called “twinkle toes” in high school, to becoming a principal dancer and choreographer for the New York City Ballet, to his influential second act as the president of The Juilliard School and an advocate for arts education. Here are his songs.

1. Knee Play 5 - Philip Glass
2. We are the World 1985 - USA for Africa
3. More Than This - Roxy Music
4. Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
5. Tom Traubert’s Blues - Tom Waits
6. Other Song - Caroline Shaw
7. Freedom - Jon Batiste

Listen to Damian Woetzel’s full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com.