The New York Times: When Justin Peck emerged as a professional choreographer in 2012, he seemed immediately a master of his trade. His dances for the new revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel,” at the Imperial Theater on Broadway, are yet another feather in his cap. Though just 30 years old, he’s already acquired such renown that, in Matthew Lopez’s new play “The Inheritance” (now at the Young Vic in London), “the latest Justin Peck” is spoken of as a must-see New York artistic event.
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This was a very cool article to read this week! It is not often that I focus on the choreography of musicals, which, I understand, makes no sense since musicals are a melding of song, dance, and acting, however I really did appreciate the NY Times' look into Justin Peck's choreography for the "Carousel" revival. The thing that struck me most about what the article said of Peck's work was the blurred lines that the choreography makes between genders in dance. When we think of chorus dancers in classic musicals like this one, we often think of men and women dancing with one another, but by pairing up same genders of dancers, we not only get brought into the modern day, but we also get to see new types of dance and dance moves that are more possible with two men or two women. I hope that Justin Peck keeps getting more Broadway work so that we have more innovative choreography in mainstream theatre in the future!
I am always fascinated by choreography in different lenses. Whether it be an interpretive movement piece, fight choreography, or choreography in a musical. When they spoke about the mixing of genders that Justin Peck used in Carousel, it reminded me of a dance company from San Francisco that I have seen every time I have been in the same town as them. They always begin with a classical ballet act, then they move to an act of conceptual ballet pieces, and finally they end with contemporary numbers. It is so interesting to watch the progression of all of the different acts and watch how the dancers interact with one another. By the time they reach the contemporary act, you can see how free the choreographers are with things like gender, and it is a much more impactful transition than I would’ve thought. Something that strikes me about the images of Peck’s choreography are the sharp lines that his dancers are able to create, while still capturing the immense energy of movement.
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