Good morning and happy "Almost The End Of January"!
Recently, I talked to choreographer Trey McIntyre, whose Peter Pan will be opening at Oregon Ballet Theatre in a couple of weeks. My assignment was a feature article for OBT's Playbill, but I didn't have any designated angle for the piece. I know Trey slightly from our overlapping circles in the dance world (mostly when I was dancing in OBT and we did a few of his ballets), and although we'd really never had much of a conversation, I did know he's thoughtful and expressive, energetic and witty. So I pretty much was able to just let him drive the interview.
I wasn't disappointed! We had such a fun chat. I genuinely wished we could keep talking, and I can imagine that working more closely with him would be an energizing and inspiring thing.
Here's what I wrote about Peter Pan, Trey, the background of the ballet and its new iteration for OBT. To be completely honest, the story of Peter Pan was nothing more than a gaping hole in my education, but I did my research. I'm now slightly less in the dark about it than I was before, but I have to say this is one complex tale. Trey wisely picked out the strands he felt most relevant and transferable to ballet when he created his version, but goodness... there is a lot to be read into and between the lines in the original play and subsequent book by J.M. Barrie.
The ballet sounds like a real joy to watch, as Trey is sure you will agree if you go see it. Otherwise, there are some fun clips online (linked below) from Houston Ballet, where Trey first choreographed the ballet in 2002.
Enjoy!
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