- I'm Ashley Bouder,
and here I'm dancing
the principal role I originated
in Justin Peck's
"Year of the Rabbit."
This is the beginning
of the ballet,
and the conductor
is picking me up
based on my first movement.
It's both thrilling
and nerve-racking
to have that responsibility
at the beginning of a piece.
I feel like I'm really the one
who's setting the tone.
I get to be soft just before
I get to move very quickly.
So for me it's also a contrast
of movement and quality
that sets the tone
for the ballet.
The turns in this
are very fun,
but also scary because it's
to the right and to the left,
which for me is
not so nice to the left,
but I love that about
Justin's choreography,
that he makes it interesting
but also really challenging
for the dancers.
[orchestral music]
The quick movement here
is something
that I really try to work on
to make as big as possible,
to have the most impact
since the corps de ballet,
there's many of them
doing many movements
and just one me
doing a little solo.
When I'm working
with Justin,
he doesn't always tell me what
the other dancers are doing
or what the whole scene
onstage will be.
I could never have imagined
what the final product
would look like,
but getting in the studio
with all of the other dancers,
seeing what they're doing,
having some of my steps
all of a sudden make sense,
was a thrilling thing
to experience,
and I think it's a thrilling
thing for any dancer
to experience when working
with a choreographer.
