Justin Peck

“I really enjoyed watching a ballerina named Denise Dabrowski who used to dance at California Ballet. She was a beautiful ballerina and role model for a lot of young dancers.”

“My grandfather James Peck was a civil rights activist.”

“I think that story ballets, as great as they might sell, they're a really dated and awkward medium to tell stories through. I think there needs to be an updated or different approach to storytelling in dance. There needs to be less of a separation between the storytelling and the dancing.”

“It's very difficult to switch back and forth between running rehearsals and then stepping in to dance in rehearsals as a dancer. Just to switch hats in an instant can be a little bit jarring, mostly physically, on the body.”

“I'm trying to create ballets that I would enjoy seeing.”

“When I'm making a new ballet, I usually read through the score a little bit, and then I have to go back and translate or transcribe all the counts for dancers because the way that you hear it is completely different from the way the musicians read and play it.”

“There is a clearing for new creative thought in choreography. I don't feel intimidated; there is a lot I can do that is new or innovative or different.”

“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.”

“I love seeing New York City Ballet from the fourth ring, just seeing the architecture of how these bodies move from above.”

“It's nice to have the support and infrastructure to do what I want creatively. That's kind of a rare thing to find.”

“The ballet world, it's a crazy world.”

“It's amazing what a resource modern technology is now for making ballets, and I film my rehearsals almost every day.”

“When I put on my consumer hat, and I'm buying tickets to be entertained, I'm not interested in seeing, like, 'Don Quixote.' Unless someone really spectacular is dancing.”

“Ballet is a classically based art form, so it comes with a certain set of rules, at least to start with; then it's about how far you want to push from there.”

“George Balanchine is my role model because his work is so varied. You can see two ballets of his and not even realize that they are by the same choreographer.”

“Pressure feels sort of normal to me.”

“My movement is usually about finding the balance between artistry, athleticism, and musicality. It always originates with a classical basis and expands outwards from that platform.”