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" 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?' "

Justin Peck

Dance

Influence

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

" My grandfather James Peck was a civil rights activist. "

" 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. "

Justin Peck

Good

Dance

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

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

" I've always liked vintage posters of California beaches. "

" 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. "

" Pressure feels sort of normal to me. "

Justin Peck

Normal

Sort

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

" There needs to be more encouragement and support for women - at an impressionable age - to explore that choreographic side of their brains. "

" The reason I started dancing in the first place was my dad took me to see 'Bring In 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk' when I was 9. "

" 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. "

" I feel like there is a different, new energy when I collaborate with a living artist, whether it be a composer, designer, lighting designer. I love that process. "

" 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. "

Justin Peck

Hat

Dancing

" 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. "

" I try and create choreography that's in conversation with the music that the audience is hearing. "

" For me, the choreography always comes from the music. "

Justin Peck

Music

Choreography

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

" I always feel that the mark of a good ballet is that when you see it more than once, you get more out of it. "

" I'm always interested in linking dance to mundane behavior that everyone can relate to. "

" What's always interested me the most about ballet is it's this great opportunity for many different artistic mediums to come together to create a cohesive experience. "

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

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

" Ballet dancers are among the greatest living athletes. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

Justin Peck

Together

Team

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

Justin Peck

Flood

Thought

" I've always thought of the process of creating ballets as being this kind of team effort. It's not like being a painter, where you have your paint, and you have canvas, and you just go at it. I'm working with these living, breathing, functioning human beings, and they have their own thoughts and ideas about what works well movement-wise. "

" 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. "