Justin Peck’s Copland Dance Episodes

February 3, 2023

New York City Ballet resident choreographer Justin Peck‘s Copland Dance Episodes is his first full-length work and the company’s newest non-narrative full-length ballet since George Balanchine’s 1967 Jewels. Set to four of Aaron Copland’s acclaimed compositions, Peck’s ballet features scenery by Choctaw/Cherokee painter and sculptor Jeffrey Gibson, including a vibrant quilt-like backdrop. In this Mounia Akl–directed preview film for Copland Dance Episodes, shot on location in an empty street, a vast warehouse and a desolate park, soloist Miriam Miller and corps member Gilbert Bolden III perform sharp, angular movements mixed with sustained embraces, as they embody the bold sounds of Copland’s “Gun Battle” from Billy the Kid. Copland Dance Episodes premiered January 26 and concludes its current run on February 7.