Justin Peck

“American ballet... is ultimately an evolutionary art form, requiring many voices to creatively carry forward.”

“Balanchine was just able to strike the balance between literal narrative and abstract dance.”

“The future of ballet is really in the hands of the creators, so if it's something that interests them to push the envelope with gender roles, then I think it will change. But if that's not of interest to a dance-maker, if their interest is to sort of preserve the way things have been done for the past 200 years, then nothing is going to change.”

“When I'm in sneakers, it changes my body carriage. I feel more in my own skin.”

“I like graceful and elegant partnering that gives an illusion of ease instead of emphasizing difficulty. I don't want to make something 'contemporary' or 'trendy,' because ballet doesn't progress on one track: it can branch out in many directions, and as Balanchine showed, there's always room for pure classicism and more subtle alterations of it.”

“For me, the choreography always comes from the music.”

“I grew up going on vacations with my family to New York every summer, and it's something that I always looked forward to. They'd take me to theater and shows and interesting restaurants, so I was genuinely really excited to move there.”

“It's expensive to get studio space and dancers. My whole first three years, I was sneaking around in the studios and getting kicked out of them. It was kind of depressing.”

“I'm not a very good dancer. My feet don't point far enough; my extension is embarrassing. Dance, for me, has been hard because it's a strive for perfection.”

“Ballet dancers are among the greatest living athletes.”

“It's probably what I'm most interested in as a choreographer: how I can alter and shift and develop the structure of a piece and of the space.”

“Balanchine is the number one influence for me. His work was really musically driven. He and Jerome Robbins were the ones who really showed me that dance could be about the inner relation between movement and music. When I was a student first seeing their work, I was like, 'Oh, this is a thing?'”

“The idea of having a narrative guiding the viewer through and grasping their attention is a really compelling thing.”

“When I saw 'Hamilton,' there was so much information so fast, I had to keep up with it. I find that quality in art exhilarating.”

“I think ballet is pretty open about what music is used, actually.”

“If I get a commission, it's like a flood of creative thought and energy.”

“There is something about Dior that reminds me of New York City Ballet. They both have a classic, glamorous basis but are trying to evolve the arts in new and innovative ways.”

“I'm really interested in working with groups. It's a very simple thing for me, and if I'm given the option to work with two people or 10 or 20 people, I'm going to take 10 or 20. I just think there's so much more I can do with that.”

“My intention is to make sure that the new work being created for the ballet world is relevant.”

“Chicago is amazing.”