Ballet by Justin Peck
The Times Are Racing is a one-act ballet by Justin Peck, to "USA I-IV" from Dan Deacon's album "America", with costumes designed by Humberto Leon from the fashion label Opening Ceremony and lighting design by Brandon Stirling Baker. It premiered on January 26, 2017 at the David H. Koch Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.
Production.
"The Times Are Racing" is made by Justin Peck, the resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet. It was created during the 2016 presidential election, Peck said the ballet became "less optimistic piece than it could have been" after Donald Trump won the election. The music is "USA I-IV" from Dan Deacon's album "America", an electronic score, which Peck first listened few years prior. Though it was an unusual choice for ballet, and might be unpopular among some audiences, he went with it anyway as by then he was known for a "hypermodern direction".
Peck opted the dancers to wear sneakers in the ballet, which had been used in a few ballets in NYCB's repertory and another ballet by Peck. The use of sneakers allowed him to incorporate elements of tap dance. He described the ballet as "rhythm tap and hoofing meets Fred Astaire soft-shoe, and Gene Kelly classical tap-film movements meets ballet". A tap number danced by Robert Fairchild and Peck himself was inspired by the video game "Dance Dance Revolution", which the two played when they were roommates at the School of American Ballet, and Peck planned the sequence to look like the two dancers are "following along" the game's level track. Peck, who was still dancing at the time but rarely in his own work, said the tap portion was one of the reasons why he cast himself in the ballet.
Ashly Isaacs, a female soloist, was chosen to be an alternate of Fairchild's role, due to her tapping ability, and the role is believed to be the first gender-neutral principal role in NYCB's repertory.
Revivals.
In later revivals, Taylor Stanley, a male principal dancer, was cast to dance the role originated by Tiler Peck (no relations to Justin Peck), and partnered Daniel Applebaum. Peck said the choice was made to allow his gay colleagues to perform "without any pretense" and the casting choice would continue the ballet's "exploration of gender-neutrality", though small changes were made to accommodate the dancers.
The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago debuted "The Times Are Racing" in 2020. Later that year, in response to the performances cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, NYCB streamed the tap number with Fairchild and Peck online, as part of its digital spring season.
Original cast.
"The Times Are Racing" is performed by 20 dancers. The lead roles were originated by:
Critical reception.
The "Financial Times" gave "The Times Are Racing" five stars, called it Peck's "darkest, saddest, but also loosest, freest and most grounded dance to date". "The New Yorker" also gave it five stars, and wrote the most impressive part "was not the cool-cat factor. It was the opposite. The ballet seemed to show a softness that was new to Peck". In a mixed review, the "New York Times" criticized the music and duets with Tiler Peck and Amar Ramasar but complimented other parts of the ballet.
References.
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