Peter Chu
Peter Chu | |
|---|---|
 Chu in 2010 | |
| Born | |
| Occupations | Dancer, choreographer, educator, director |
| Style | Contemporary / modern dance |
| Website | http://www.chuthis.net |
Peter Chu is an American choreographer, dancer, educator, and director.[1] Born in The Bronx and raised in Cocoa Beach, Florida,[1] Chu is best known for his creative process combining Traditional Chinese Medicine practices like Qigong and Taiji with modern dance.[2] Chu has choreographed and danced extensively both the concert dance and commercial dance industries during his decades-long career and has been described as a "sought-after artist"[3] with "international acclaim.”[4]
Early life and education
[edit]Chu first trained as a gymnast and cheerleader before beginning studies at Dussich Dance Studio, and advancing his studies at Dance by Holly Rock.[1] He later graduated from The Juilliard School with a B.F.A. in Dance under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy.
Accolades
[edit]In 2018, Chu received the Harvard Blogett Award for distinguished artist, for his creative process and work at the Theater, Dance, and Media Department at Harvard University.[2] He was the winner of the 2010 Capezio A.C.E. Award for choreographing the work, This Thought.[5] Chu was the featured choreographer during the 2008 Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival.[6] Upon graduation from The Juilliard School, he was awarded the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography.[7]
As a performer
[edit]As a concert dancer, Chu has performed with dance companies Frankfurt RM,[1] BJM Danse (Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal), EZdanza, Azure Barton and Artists, and spent seven years as a company member of Crystal Pite's Kidd Pivot.[8] Commercially, he was principal dancer in the music video for Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts"[9] and was a performer in Celine Dion's A New Day.
As a choreographer and director
[edit]He has choreographed for Cirque du Soleil (Vitori & MUV), Ballet Augsburg, Backhaus Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, DART Dance Company, Gibney Dance Company,[10] Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kansas City Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) Summer Intensive,[11] Orlando Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Jacob's Pillow.[12]
In the commercial dance industry, Chu was a guest choreographer in seasons 9[13] and 10[14] of So You Think You Can Dance.
As an educator
[edit]Chu has been an artist in residence at the USC Kaufman School of Dance,[15] and served as a guest faculty member at Harvard University for 3 years.[16] He choreographs with universities, including at Princeton,[17] FSU college of Fine Arts,[4] and Western Michigan University.[18] He has been faculty at Adrenaline Dance and Broadway Dance Center,[19] and has been a guest teacher at studios such as Steps on Broadway[20] and The Dance Studio of Fresno,[21] among others.
chuthis. Dance Company
[edit]In 2008, Chu formed a project-based dance company, called chuthis. In 2010, the company premiered Chu's work, Nothing Sticks, in New York City and Vancouver, British Columbia.[22] Since then, the company has gone on to do performances, workshops, choreography and re-staging, and rehearsal directing. In 2024, chuthis. held a residency at Orsolina 28, where they concluded their intensive with a mini tour to Germany and the Netherlands featuring a duet evening called SHIFT.[3] In 2025, the company consisted of seven dancers.[2]
Videos
[edit]A library of concert works trailers is available here: https://vimeo.com/peterchuthis
A youtube playlist of works, interviews, and class excerpts is available here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCj5kCEwfgRFUabx12beqMxK6LjM142g0&feature=shared
"Moving Constructs” by Peter Chu - Focus On Creation '24 - Orsolina28 Art Foundation
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "Dance Magazine – If it's happening in the world of dance, it's happening in Dance Magazine". dancemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- 1 2 3 "PETER CHU | Director, Choreographer, Educator". PETER CHU | Director, Choreographer, Educator. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- 1 2 "Peter Chu | Orsolina 28". www.orsolina28.it. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- 1 2 jamierager (2024-11-13). "World-renowned choreographer inspires FSU dance students through artistic collaboration". FSU College of Fine Arts. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ "Dance Teacher Summit - ACE Awards List
- ↑ Moore, John (2008-06-18). "Inspiration blooms at Perry-Mansfield's New Works Festival". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ Palm, Matthew J. (February 13, 2013). "Choreographer Peter Chu works on Orlando Ballet's 'Hollywood en Pointe'". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
- ↑ Aaron Scott, "Review: Kidd Pivot's Dark Matters", "Portland Monthly Mag" March 17, 2012
- ↑ "Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts" MV | DT Exclusive Interview", "Dance Track Magazine" October 7, 2010
- ↑ "Peter Chu". Gibney. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ "NDT Summer Intensive 2016". Nederlands Dans Theater. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ "Team 1". PETER CHU | Director, Choreographer, Educator. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ Brittany Perry-Russell, "DancePlug", "firstpost.com"
- ↑ "So You Think You Can Dance Top 16 Perform" Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, "fox50.com" July 24, 2013
- ↑ "Peter Chu". USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ "Visiting Artist Series | Office for the Arts at Harvard". ofa.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ "Peter Chu: Princeton Dance Festival Reimagined, Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts' Program in Dance". www.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ "Peter Chu | A.R.T." americanrepertorytheater.org. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ "Peter Chu Faculty Bio | Broadway Dance Center". broadwaydancecenter.com. 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ "Peter Chu". Steps on Broadway. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ↑ "General 5". PETER CHU | Director, Choreographer, Educator. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ↑ Janet Smith, "Peter Chu Brings Big Influences to Dances for a Small Stage", "The Georgia Straight" July 25, 2013