"Dance taught me compassion"
Peter Chu is a truly passionate dancer and choreographer. He has with Crystal Pite's company, Kidd Pivot, but also with BJM _Danse, EZdanza, as the lead in singer Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts" music video, and in Celine Dion's Vegas spectacular "A New Day".
In 2008, Peter formed his own project-based company chuthis.
As a choreographer he is created works for Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) Summer Intensive, Orlando Ballet Theatre, under the direction of Robert Hill, and Houston Met Dance Company among others.
He is recipient of the prestigious 2010 Capezio A.C.E. Award for Choreography, creating for Naomi Stikeman's Çaturn (consulted by Robert Lepage) and ARTV series in Québec - Meneuse de Claques. He was honored as selected choreographer for the Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (directed by Linda Kent) and choreographed for the ninth and tenth seasons of So You Think You Can Dance.
-You have had an amazing and various career so far, dancing in Kidd Pivot but also as the lead in singer Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts music video and Celine Dion's Vegas spectacular A New Day. You are also an amazing choreographer with your own project-based company “chuthis” and choreographing also for SYTYCN and many others. What is the key to your success?
“It is constantly changing what the key is. But I think it is mostly about having a passion for the art, because art gave me a way out, provided me therapy, a way of releasing tensions in my whole body. So art gave me something that no doctor could have given to me. That loving relationship with dance is the way I use to express myself in society. Just keep the passion and motivation alive and perseverance.”
-You have been working with Crystal Pite for many years. How did her work to influence and change your dance?
“She knows her vision but she is open to different possibilities and there is always a small part of us, and she celebrates that. It was magical, wonderful, difficult being on tour for 5 years, not having a home. I love how she can be as much honest as she can be, I learned a lot. The way she allowed me to discover who I am in her work has definitely influenced how I approach work. She awoke something inside me I would be always grateful for.”
-What is the role of improvisation and research in personal growth as a dancer?
“We like to talk more about free form. It helps you figure it out who you are for that day, where your mind is, where our body is. But, for me it is also an opportunity to play, connecting mind and body.”
-How important is technique instead? And how can you define “technique”?
“There are so many different techniques. But, I like people to understand their bodies, and for me that is technique.”
-How were you able to develop your artistry first as a dancer and then as a choreographer?
“I think as artists, it is constantly a question in our mind “who am I? What am I doing? What am I aiming for?”.
My father is from China and this had a great impact on the way I move: when I grow up I watched a lot of videos of martial arts and Chinese operas. And I was always fascinated by the way Chinese opera uses stop in the way of moving. I also have a jazz culture. These two had a great impact on the way I approach movement and the way I present and I want to research movement. What I love about them is that they are not just a pose. There are similarities between Eastern philosophy like Tai Chi which I do have a lot of training in and martial arts, and jazz/hip-hop culture. I do not come from the Hip-hop community, but I am more related to the Jazz community. These two art forms are built to heal or reduce negative tensions. And, these help people express themselves and reflect and deflect. That is quite my idea of the intersection of what they create and that is what it is about. My heritage is informed where I do arts.”
-Do you think there is a connection between dance and culture?
“Yes. What I like about Eastern philosophy and Hip-pop and Jazz is that they have a lineage. My lineage has Jazz dance experiences so I do know that which is authentic and honest with myself.
Always think about my environment. How I am creating the environment, How I am partaking in the environment, and how I am facilitating the environment. And those cultural references taught me to get back to the center of the floor to get back to the community and to get back to society.”
-What fascinates you about creating a piece?
“Possibilities. When I choreograph I am being informed by the people in front of me, there is always a coexisting energy. I love to create a process in order to create possibilities, exchange and momentum. It is constantly evolving, constantly circulating and coexisting with different kinds of energy. For sure I have a theme, a concept, but I already know that the people in front of me are going to have a huge influence.”
-How can you deal with bad days and strugglings during the process?
“Sometimes we are affected by people’s emotions because we are influenced by the energy of the space as emotional human beings. But it is an adventurous journey and it is fun for that!”
-When you create a piece, what catches your attention in another dancer?
“I think it changes every time. But I just want to see people with curiosity, and when they really are, their tone is different, the way they communicate is really clear, calm and compassionate and it is not judgmental on themselves neither on others. They are like childs.And when I sense that curiosity also in the body I get very excited.”
-What is the difference between creating a piece for a company and a tv show? How does your approach change?
“I have always tried not to lose my real self and my values. I don’t change my process and I always do a class even though I bother and annoy the producer who wants the dancers to learn the routine. And at the end they told me that they appreciate the way I did a process with the dancers and that meant a lot to me. With my process I really try to stay true to myself and try to leave a part of me wherever I go. Whenever I go I try to give inspiring classes, warm-up, pedagogy and research, that is so important for me.”
-You also have your own company “chuthis”. What are the positive and negative aspects of leading a company?
“Due to the pandemic period, it is really hard to manage the company. But I keep putting effort because I obviously love it. It is too hard to continue it but I know society needs movements. Not everyone knows about dance, but I really want everyone to experience it at least a few times in their life.
I don’t think of myself as the leader of the company. I might lead it but it is more like a team that works and collaborates together. I am really open and I want them to think of this company as our company. Therefore, I am trying to let everyone involved in and speak out freely. Now we are able to work on a 3 year long research project, Rhythmic identity which we started in 2021. And this is the fun thing about having a small company!”
-How did you build your company? Why?
“Since I am from the Jazz dance community, even though I had the ballet training, I wanted to support the community. And, I wanted to create something that contained both commercial and concert backgrounds. I was having a hard time being in between these two different dance style communities so I wanted to create “Chuthis” in order to talk about ‘this is what I am talking about, so just chu on it, experience this, before you prejudge it.’ That is how the name came out. But also, Chuthis is simply about how I move, influenced by jazz and Eastern practices. Moreover, the name contains making chewy which means that we try to make movements delicious.”
-Why do we need dance in society?
“There are so many answers! Dance provided me with mindfulness and understanding and taught me compassion. I was able to learn a lot about antic actions. And when I am guiding the space or offer something, I hope it helps build group compassionate feelings. And that result conflicts more than any other thing. We don’t need to talk, we just need to sense and feel the body. That is what dance is for me, which makes me an empathetic and compassionate person. Even when I watch it, sometimes it happens that I become negative about what I am watching. And it is okay to have an opinion about it. It is more important what you learn and how that impacts you. Sometimes, it also helps me to understand the way I view people’s works. Therefore, it taught me to be more compassionate for sure.”
-You are also really into education. Can you give some advice to young dancers?
“Be calm and patient: refined details take time and the process is a journey. Young dancers should find space to reflect about their dreams and passions and reevaluate. This is really important: one day to sit down doing nothing and just reflect. Living that way will bring you back to yourself and mother nature. It doesn’t matter what we choose to do, it is what we do of what we are choosing and the intention we put into it.”