57 Quotes by Justin Peck

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.

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.

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

My choreography is very classically based.

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.

Ballet dancers are among the greatest living athletes.

Chicago is amazing.

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

Pressure feels sort of normal to me.