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Dancer Profile: Justin Peck

November 27, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

https://instagram.com/p/zkXwa3qRUr/?taken-by=justin_peck

(Peck, front right, in his own work Rōdē,ō: Four Dance Episodes)

“There’s this Diaghilev quote that I always go back to. It’s very simple. He said, “I have big plans.” Maybe I’m being overly optimistic. But that’s how I feel. ” – Justin Peck

At age 13, Justin Peck was cast as in extra in American Ballet Theatre’s touring production of Giselle. Witnessing the athleticism of ABT’s male dancers Herman Cornejo, Marcelo Gomes, and Ethan Stiefel inspired him to begin ballet training. Previously, he had only taken classes in tap and musical theater. He found ballet challenging, particularly extension and turnout. Nonetheless, within just two years, he proved proficient enough to be accepted into the School of American Ballet. He became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 2006, a corps member in 2007, and a soloist in 2013.

Peck’s career took a unique turn when he decided to take a dance criticism course at Columbia University. There, his professor Mindy Anloff told him he had a good mind for choreography and encouraged him to give it try. Peck’s first work was a pas de deux for the student-run company Columbia Ballet Collaborative. From there he went on to New York City Ballet’s affiliated program The New York Choreographic Institute. His creations caught the eye of NYCB’s artistic director Peter Martins who invited him to choreograph for the company.

In 2014, after choreographing for New York City Ballet for only two years, Peck was named New York City Ballet’s Resident Choreographer. He was just 26 at the time. New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay has written that Peck is “the third important choreographer to have emerged in classical ballet this century, following Christopher Wheeldon and [Alexei] Ratmansky.”

In Peck’s choreographic process, music and collaboration have priority. He told the Washington Post,”My philosophy on choreography is that the making of a ballet is a team effort, and we’re in this together. It’s not me hammering on them. It’s more about how we can elevate this piece collectively to something great.”

Fun Facts:

Peck’s role in ABT’s Giselle at age 13 was a dog handler in Act I

His guilty food pleasure is Australian licorice

He admits the main reason he wanted to attend SAB was to live in New York City; he didn’t actually know much about Balanchine when he applied.

Follow Peck On:

His website: http://www.justin-peck.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/justin_peck

Instagram: https://instagram.com/justin_peck/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justinisjustinpeck

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcALX4g97mMXFZtBRSHBv0Q

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/justinpeck/videos

Justin Peck and Janie Taylor

Justin Peck and Taylor Stanley on Peck’s ‘Rōdē,ō: Four Dance Episodes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqPDiyXjTbc&feature=youtu.be

Justin Peck & Sufjan Stevens – Excerpts and discussion of Peck’s “Year of the Rabbit”

Miami City Ballet: Justin Peck & Shepard Fairey – Excerpts and discussion of Peck’s “Year of the Rabbit”

Articles [Read more…]

DVD Review: BALLET 422

November 16, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

by Rachel Hellwig

BALLET 422, a documentary by Jody Lee Lipes, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Justin Peck’s Paz de la Jolla, his third ballet for New York City Ballet and the company’s 422nd new work.

Without the use of voiceover narration or intermittent interviews, the film shows scenes of Peck dancing alone in the studio for a phone camera, making sketches of steps and formations for the ballet, using his computer as an aid, and giving directives in rehearsal–“isolate the elbows”, “it’s not crispy enough”. But if you’re looking for more detailed insight into his choreographic process and the ideas behind Paz de la Jolla (as a well as the filmmaking process), you’ll want to turn on the commentary by Peck and Lipes in the Special Features section. You’ll have to do this on your second viewing though, because it will be layered over the film’s sound. I found the commentary enriching and I wish it could have been incorporated into BALLET 422 instead being a supplement. Nonetheless, there is an effective, quiet drama evoked in the film’s minimalist approach.

BALLET 422 also features backstage scenes, Peck’s collaboration with costume designers, discussions with lighting director Mark Stanley, and work with the late Albert Evans, former NYCB dancer and ballet master. As for the dance scenes, they give glimpses of the unique qualities of the principals of Paz de la Jolla: the athletic, lightning-speed sprightliness of Tiler Peck (no relation to Mr. Peck), the rebounding energy and charisma of Amar Ramasar, and the understated sophistication of Sterling Hyltin. Moreover, the dance scenes and performance clips capture some of the most exciting elements of Peck’s choreography –the Balanchinian propulsion of speed extended into a digital-age pulse and the prose poetry in his manner of melding contemporary and classical movement.

Magnolia Pictures, 75 minutes.

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Interview: New York City Ballet Corps Member Laine Habony

August 13, 2015 by Rachel Hellwig

Laine Habony. Photograph by Kenneth Edwards.

by Rachel Hellwig

At what age did you begin ballet? Where did you receive your early training?

I began dance at age 3. Both my older sisters danced and I begged for a year to take class too. I started in a combo ballet/tap pullout class at a Montessori school and my first recital was a tap recital.

The next year, I started ballet and tap classes at a small studio called Denton Ballet Academy. I moved to Ballet Conservatory (BC) when I was 8 to train with Kelly Kilburn Lannin. Ms. Lannin introduced me to classical ballet, modern, tap, jazz, and musical theater. It was a great performance studio that fed into a local company, LakeCities Ballet Theatre (LBT).

I was invited to join LBT at age 11 and performed many ballets there for two years before leaving for NYC. At BC/LBT, I was able to train with Ms. Lannin, Shawn Stevens (NYCB and Twyla Tharp), and Allan Kinzie (Boston Ballet) as well as guest artists including Michael Vernon (Royal Ballet), Josh Bergasse (On The Town, Smash), Marco Perins (La Scala), Julie Kent (ABT).

When did you realize you wanted to be a professional ballet dancer?

I always preferred tap/jazz over ballet until I was 11 years old – then I got my pointe shoes! I auditioned for summer programs that winter and spent my 12th summer at ABT NYC. I knew then I wanted to be a professional ballerina in NYC. When I was 13, I performed Serenade with LBT and knew then it was Balanchine all the way.

I saw on YouTube that you competed in Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) when you were 13. Tell us a little about that experience and what you learned from it.

I did compete in YAGP when I was 13. It was a great year. I did two classical pieces – Satanella and Aurora’s first variation from Sleeping Beauty. I also did a contemporary piece choreographed by Shawn Stevens to Vivaldi called Red Cardinal. I had gorgeous tutus sewn by Elizabeth Schillar, a tutu designer in Texas. She allowed me to help with the creation, picking fabric and even sewing on all the crystals.

I won 1st place in Classical in Dallas and Top 12 in Contemporary and went on to compete in the YAGP NYC Finals. I had great scores and great comments and was offered full scholarships to quite a few places including Canada National and John Cranko, but I had to decline them all because I already knew I was going to the School of American Ballet (New York City Ballet’s official school) on scholarship.

Training for YAGP is an experience a young dancer cannot replace at that age. Private lessons that provided individual performance coaching were so valuable for my technique and confidence. My coaches taught me to work for the sake of experience, not to win a contest. I learned that a dance career is a marathon not a sprint, and not to get caught up on losing or winning any one thing.

[Read more…]

Naked Dancing: A Cautionary Tale

August 28, 2012 by 4dancers

by Lauren Warnecke, MS

In 2010, Alastair Macaulay seriously pissed me off.

His gross review of NYCB’s Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and specifically his comment on their waist sizes, sent shockwaves through the interwebs. I wouldn’t say that he’s necessarily done it again, but there’s a little buzz beginning on the social media about his new editorial on naked dancing.

437px-Bakst_Nizhinsky — Naked or nearly naked dancing is not new: the bare-chested Nijinski shocked his 1912 audiences with the overtly sexual L’Apres Midi D’Une Faune

I’m hardly shocked that Macaulay’s first paragraph, and most of the essay, are comparing modern experimental dance to porn and strippers. To be honest, I fully expected to be writing another rant about sensationalism in dance writing….. but I have to say, I’m aligned with Mr. Macaulay on a couple of points.

Dancing in the buff has serious implications that you can’t avoid (no matter how much we want them to). It’s an artistic choice that instantly personalizes dancers and makes them into real people, with legs and hips and – other parts. Depending on the degree of naked, your costume (or lack thereof) also creates the distinct persona of sexual beings, and if that’s what you want, then go for it.

But…

Naked is not a decision you should make lightly as a dancemaker, or, in my opinion, frequently. That’s not because I don’t want to see naked people; it’s because the one thing that you think is so extreme and unique and impactful is actually quite overdone. It’s sort of like making a dance to Barber’s Adagio. Like it or not, most audience members are going to have preconceived notions about nudity. Maybe you can prep them in program notes and pre-show talks to depersonalize the dance and see the beauty of the human form in motion, or maybe you’re okay with the influence of the giggling twelve-year-old boy in all of us seeping into the overall impact you want your piece to have. If not, find another way.

I’m not frustrated by nudity in dance because I find it offensive. Rather, I’m put off by the fact that the choreographer couldn’t find another way to represent vulnerability, or truth, or love, or whatever. Getting naked isn’t as extreme as you might think… I’ve used it (more than once), along with almost every dancemaker in my acquaintance.

My point is: Go ahead! Get naked if you have to, but recognize that there will always be that guy giggling in the back comparing your art to a strip club. Just, whatever you do, please don’t make a naked dance to Barber’s Adagio…

Contributor Lauren Warnecke, M.S., is a Chicago-based dance artist, educator, and writer. She trained at the Barat Conservatory of Dance before earning a BA in Dance at Columbia College Chicago. In 2009, Lauren completed her MS in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, with a concentration in Motor Control and Learning. Lauren is a Visiting Instructor for the department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at UIC, and teaches master classes and seminars in ballet, modern dance, creative movement, and dance pedegogy. She is certified in ballet by the Cecchetti Council of America and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine.

In addition to teaching at UIC, Lauren owns and operates Art Intercepts, under which she creates, informs, and writes about dance. The primary mission of Art Intercepts is to bridge the gap between the scientific and artistic communities to present programming that is informed, inventive, and evidence-based. Lauren is a freelance writer/blogger and maintains monthly columns at Danceadvantage.net and 4dancers.org. and was featured on a panel of nationally reputed dance writers at the 2012 Dance/USA conference. She also works periodically as a grant writer and production/stage manager for artists in the Chicago dance and performance community, and volunteers for initiatives encouraging Chicagoans to engage in local, sustainable, and active lifestyles. Lauren likes to hike, bake scones, and dig in the dirt.

Dance Blog Spotlight: Swan Lake Samba Girl

August 17, 2012 by 4dancers

Today I’m excited to introduce Tonya Plank, author of one of the early dance blogs on the web (Swan Lake Samba Girl). I can remember reading it years ago, and it’s every bit as good today as it was then. Say hello to one of the early adopters, and see where her journey has taken her…

1. Can you tell readers a bit about your background in dance?

As a child, I took ballet, tap dance, jazz, and acrobatics, concentrating the longest on ballet. But I gave that up once I went to college. I was just too busy. As an adult, I took up ballroom dancing – mainly to alleviate stress from my day job, as a lawyer. I ended up loving it so much, I started competing at the amateur level. That rekindled my childhood passion for ballet, and I started going to a lot of ballet performances in New York, where I lived for many years, before moving to L.A.

2. When did you begin your blog-and why did you start it?

I started my dance blog in mid-2006. I was competing in ballroom dance competitions and I’d just gone to Blackpool – the mother of all ballroom dancing comps. I started my blog to document my journey as a dancer – really, to capture the trials and tribulations of learning to dance and compete in dance as an adult. Later, I got very busy and ballroom dancing became expensive and I stopped competing so much. But then I started going to the ballet, and to other kinds of concert dance performances in NYC and my blog kind of grew into a blog about watching dance. Soon, I had a loyal following of other dance-goers, other ballet lovers.

3. What does your blog cover?

My blog now covers mainly ballet and modern dance performances.

I’ve moved to Los Angeles, so I write mainly about what’s going on in dance in Southern California. I also try to write about the TV dance shows as often as I can. I especially like to cover the new ones – like “Breaking Pointe” on CW, and now “A Chance to Dance,” which will premiere on Ovation TV in August. I also try to keep up with the ballroom dancing competitions as much as I can.

4. What has been the best part about participating in the dance community online? [Read more…]

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