NYC Ballet's Tiler Peck on Christopher Wheeldon's LES CARILLONS

A lot of the ballets that I enjoy doing have been Christopher Wilden ballets. They all seem to feel very comfortable for me. Les Carrions premiered at the first full evening ever of Christopher Wilden's works. What's special about Chris is that he has the vocabulary from so many different styles of ballet. He came from a more classical background, and then to dance in New York City ballet and get to do ballets by Balanchine and Robbins, you gain this vocabulary that really expands his movement quality. His ballets are still very classical. It's just a more contemporary way of moving in classical shapes. He can make an arm movement that's just a port de bras into something you've never seen before. The individual sections he choreographed so quickly. I think he did my solo in two days, but the group dances are always so intricate that they always take a little bit more time. I think that he's great about putting formations together, and that is very pleasing for the eye of the audience to see all these formations coming in and out out of nowhere. I think he just likes to use every part of your body. He just knows what challenges you and what is going to make you look your best and become a better dancer. My solo, when he very first created it, the first two eight counts, I was like, these are the hardest steps. It's only the first, not even minute, and I'm already dying, and he just started laughing. But at the end, it just feels so natural because it just feels a part of your body. I think it's really interesting, the two different solos, the one that he did for Sarah and the one that he did for me, and how they showed completely different contrasts. Sarah's is more here I am with very big music and devouring up the space, and mine is more kind of like a spring day and I'm just out kind of playing. The differences between all of the different sections are really what make the ballet unique. I use my wrist a lot, and he has me turned out, and I turn in, and I swivel my foot on point, and it's just kind of all about using those subtle things that really become something extraordinary. He didn't want it to look like choreography. I think he wanted it to be kind of like I was making the steps up on spot. Having a ballet created on you is just something special because nobody else has done it before you, so you can just make it completely your own. In Le Carréon, you get a sense that this is a Wilden ballet. It showcases Chris and all of his aspects, and I know that the dancers feel that way. You know, we're always excited to be a part of his ballets.