Tiler Peck is a force to be reckoned with. Bubbling over with passion for the art form on and off the stage, she is a huge star in the United States as well as having built up a world-wide following through her Turn it out with Tiler initiative during Covid, in which she gave maintenance barre classes via Instagram from her kitchen. In NYCB’s demanding repertoire she always shines, always giving her all and astounding audiences with her Balanchinian fleet footwork and fearless turns.
Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends, her group that sprang from the momentum of the Instagram lessons, is currently visiting London for the second time, and I have no doubt that the success of this visit will rival that of their 2023 appearances.
I was surprised to see that the programme consists of exactly the same repertoire as on their last visit, although the pieces were shown in a different order, which worked better. William Forsythe’s The Barre Project Blake Works II is an excellent opener. From the moment the curtain rises on Peck alone on stage and she approaches the barre to begin her fizzing, explosive solo, this piece is enthralling and uplifting, a great way to start a show. Forsythe’s choreography, so dynamic, so speedy, suits Peck’s own style perfectly, but her fellow dancers also shine, particularly Roman Mejia whose batterie is a joy to behold. He, like Peck, is a supremely musical dancer, knowing exactly how to draw out his movement to create stretched-out moments amid the fleet-footedness. They were joined, as previously, by Brooklyn Mack and Lex Ishimoto, both making a most welcome return to London.
Tiler Peck is also garnering an impressive reputation for her choreography, and I was pleased to see her Thousandth Orange again. In this piece she shows a flair for architectural groupings and patterns, and the final tableau is a stunner. Choreographically it is not particularly innovative but perfect serviceable, and the dancers (all from New York City Ballet) India Bradley, Quinn Starner, Chun-Wai Chan, Christopher Grant, Ryan Tomash (promoted to principal only last week) and Kloe Walker, served it well. It was followed by Alonzo King’s Swift Arrow, with moments surprisingly reminiscent of some of Forsythe’s work, not generally the case with other work of his that I have seen. Swift Arrow is a well-made pas de deux superbly danced by Peck and Mejia.
Time Spell is, at its heart, a pure celebration of dance. Jointly choreographed by Peck, Jillian Meyers and Michelle Dorrance, with elements of improvisation by the dancers, it’s a roller-coaster ride through several styles of movement and left the audience cheering and whooping in a standing ovation. In this piece Dorrance’s tap choreography is particularly strong and her own dancing is full of charisma as well as stunning technique. Alongside her, the wonderful Byron Tittle gives, for me, a performance that is the highlight of the evening. Not merely a fearsomely well-co-ordinated, crystalline tapper, he uses his whole body to express joy through movement; every joint, every muscle seems to be able to move independently while still remaining part of the flow. He puts one in mind of the Nicholas Brothers.
India Bradley, promoted quite recently to soloist at NYCB ( and many thought this was well overdue) was quite simply brilliant in this piece. Long of limb, slender but steely, she has terrific charisma and she used her charmingly expressive face to draw us in whenever she was on stage.
With an extended repertoire this initiative could have a long lifespan. It was a pleasure to see top-class American dancers on the London stage. They don’t visit often enough.
