With anticipation for her new show at Sadler’s Wells mounting, Tiler Peck, principal ballerina at New York City Ballet, joined the London Ballet Circle for an evening of conversation with former Royal Ballet principal, Leanne Benjamin.
Tiler started by recounting stories of her childhood; she started her dance training aged only 2 years old at her Mum’s dance studio. Her first performance was aged 11, in a Broadway musical, and whilst in New York, she also auditioned for the School of American Ballet, where she was accepted at only 12 years of age. After 3 years at the school, Tiler then joined NYCB as an apprentice aged 15. Tiler said she benefitted from joining the company so young because “I didn’t really realise what a big deal it was!”
Tiler has been at NYCB for 18 years, 14 years of which she has spent as a principal. During that time she has had the chance to dance a varied repertoire, including the classics and work by Balanchine, and struck up a close partnership with William Forsythe, whom she created The Barre Project with over lockdown. Tiler also talked about working with other choreographers, including Alexei Ratmansky, who since 2014 has been artist in residence at American Ballet Theatre and has created works for Tiler. Alongside this, Tiler has taken up choreography herself – joking that she had actually been choreographing dancers since she was 11 at her Mum’s studio, so had “always been creating and choreographing.” Of her work, she said, “I choreograph quickly,” and “if I like the music, the steps come easily.”
Tiler will be in London from 9-11th March with a new show she has produced – Turn It Out with Tiler Peck and Friends. She talked about the challenges of putting a show like this together, and the exciting collaborations she has formed, particularly with tap dance legend Michelle Dorrance and contemporary dancer Jillian Meyers. This blend of styles and techniques exemplifies Tiler’s unique, modern outlook on ballet. It will surely make for a fantastic show.
And in terms of future ambitions, Tiler emphasised her love of acting and singing – suggesting she might like to star in a film or Broadway show. She also said putting together these gala performances made her consider a future in directing. In any case, she said: “I fell like I still have a lot to give.”
A full report of this event will be posted on this website in due course and a video shared in the members only area.