VAIL, Colo. — Often the greatest excitement at an all-star dance gala comes from reading the list of illustrious participants. The programs, too commonly a numbing pileup of tired showpieces and frustrating excerpts, disappoint. But the International Evenings of Dance at the Vail International Dance Festival here on Friday and Saturday night were not that kind of gala.

The International Evenings format predates the tenure of Damian Woetzel as artistic director. At the first such evening, in 1993, he participated as a guest star from New York City Ballet. But since he took the reins, 10 years ago, he has remade the format, as he has the festival as a whole, to match his taste and vision.

The lineup was certainly dazzling: stars from City Ballet and American Ballet Theater but also some of the world’s greatest exponents of other forms, from modern (Matthew Rushing) to tango (Gabriel Missé) to kuchipudi (Shantala Shivalingappa) to Memphis jookin (Lil Buck). Yet what made the programs special was Mr. Woetzel’s way of balancing the surefire and crowd-pleasing with novelty and risk.