Peter Quanz
| Peter Quanz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 22, 1979 Kitchener, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Education | Royal Winnipeg Ballet School |
| Known for | Ballet |
| Notable work | “In Tandem” |
| Awards | Clifford E. Lee Award |
Peter Quanz (born 22 August 1979) is a Canadian choreographer.
Quanz, who was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, says he knew he wanted to be a choreographer at the age of nine.[1] His parents, both school teachers, enrolled him in ballet classes. Quanz attended the Integrated Arts Program at Eastwood Collegiate Institute for three years, before attending the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, from which he graduated in 1999. During his time in Winnipeg, Quanz was mentored by the late Dr. Arnold Spohr, CC.. Upon graduation, Quanz was awarded the Judy and Henny Jurriëns Choreographic Fellowship which afforded him a period to study ballet repertory, observing diverse choreographers and companies in Europe. From 2000 to 2002 Quanz worked as a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, an opportunity which enabled Quanz to continue his studies on the art form. During this time, Quanz was also supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and a Chalmers Performing Arts Grant.
Quanz began his choreographic career by creating piece for young choreographers’ evenings, such as Fast Forward (Royal Winnipeg Ballet), Noverre (Stuttgart Ballet), the New York Choreographic Institute (New York City Ballet), and Cascades (National Ballet of Canada). Quanz’s pieces in these workshops attracted considerable attention from critics and helping Quanz launch his career.
In 2003, Quanz created SpringScape for the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. Two years later, March 12, 2005, Quanz premiered his first full-length ballet, Charlie’s Cruise, for Ballett Chemnitz to rave reviews. Later that year, Quanz was the recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Award, for which he created Quantz by Quanz, a piece that was reconceived in 2009 for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He also created Kaleidoscope for the American Ballet Theatre, Quanz’s first tutu ballet. This piece was reworked for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 2008. On July 7, 2007 Quanz created Aria Suspended for the legendary Kirov Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre, becoming the first Canadian to choreography for the company. The following year, Quanz was commissioned by Pennsylvania Ballet, creating Jupiter Symphony.
Q Dance Quanz’s redeveloped his style in 2009 with In Tandem, a work set to Steve Reich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning score Double Sextet. In Tandem was commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum, Works & Process workshop and Quanz used dancers from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Quanz’s experience creating this piece led to the formation of Q Dance / Quanz Danse which was launched in the spring of 2010.
Quanz continued this style with his piece Luminous commissioned by Hong Kong Ballet and research and developed during Quanz’s time with the National Choreographers Initiative. Quanz returned to his classical roots for the creation of Le Papillon, National Ballet of Cuba. A 90th birthday gift for Alicia Alonso.
References
- ↑ Pawlick, Catherine. (2007-06) "Interview with Peter Quanz: A Canadian at the Mariinsky." Ballet Dance Magazine.