Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Chu.
Hi Peter, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello, my name is Peter Chu (he/him), and I have been working in the dance industry for over 25 years. I have been referred to various titles throughout my life and career, including brother, son, friend, performer, choreographer, stager, director, mentor, educator, and leader. I was born in the Bronx, NY, and raised in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where I currently reside with my mother.
As a human, I identify as an Asian American movement artist. From a young age, I was always inspired by art; I grew up surrounded by music since my mother was a music therapist and educator. In addition, I always had quite a bit of energy, which led to my interest in gymnastics. Then, when I would tag along with my mom to my sister’s dance classes, I started to gain curiosity. From there on, the rest is pretty much history.
As a mover and creator, I have always been interested in many movement genres and the intersection of those various forms and styles. I find so much beauty in noticing what connects different histories and communities, while also acknowledging the differences. My personal movement lineage includes that jazz, modern, and ballet. As a young dancer, my formidable educators, Liz Bevilacqua and Al Packard from Dussich Dance passed their lineage and knowledge down to our dance community during my time growing up in Florida.
Looking back, I can now see how their influence(s) have informed me as an artist that is fascinated by the intersectionality of varying genres and styles.
After graduating high school, I had the privilege of attending Point Park University for a year and the following year transferred to The Juilliard School. After my four years in NYC, I went on to perform with companies/productions such as Ballet Jazz Montreal and EZdanza, as the lead in Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts music video, in Celine Dion’s Vegas spectacular A New Day, and with Crystal Pite’s company Kidd Pivot. During my performance career, I also pursued choreographic opportunities in addition to creating my project-focused company chuthis.
chuthis. was formed in 2008 out of an initial desire to cultivate my choreographic artistry as well as create space for more Asian-identifying movers and artists. Since its founding, it has gone through various iterations that seemingly have strayed away from the initial intention to support more Asian-identifying movers, but I am always subconsciously trying to find ways to incorporate and support Asian movers as well as collaborators through the company.
In addition to the curiosity I have as a mover, at a young age, I also had a deep curiosity for the body. I always thought that if my life as a dancer never worked out, I would go back to school for medicine. Sometimes I still think about it, but, I guess life pans out in all sorts of ways.
While I did not pursue the Western Medical School path, I did find my way toward a particular study of Eastern Medicine through my experiences as a dancer. I started gaining a deep interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) when I met my TCM doctor, Dr. Debbie Kim after some health issues. I had an interest in TCM even before I met and started working with Dr. Kim, but Dr. Kim is the one that gave me permission to figure out how to embrace my love for TCM though I wasn’t a doctor or expert on it. I have always found Traditional Chinese Medicine a beautiful merging of other parts of my identity, more specifically my Chinese heritage and my interest in medicine, and I desired to figure out a way to incorporate that knowledge into my practice as an artist.
While I will preface that I am not an expert in Traditional Chinese Medicine, in my pursuit of it, I know five main branches make up the practice – acupuncture, movement therapy (Qi Gong), herbology, diet/nutrition, and massage. Because TCM is holistic (in the truest sense of the word), there are varying layers to the practice of each branch which I find endlessly fascinating.
The practice incorporates a deep focus on breath and the internal structures of the body and cultivates a listening to the inner wisdom that our bodies naturally hold. The study and practice of this medicine have guided me to sense, listen, feel, and question movement patterns the body may experience and also reminded me to stay focused on the present moment in times of turmoil. The beautiful imagery and idea of connecting to the body from the inside out continually inform how I guide class, creative process, or imagery that I am artistically researching within chuthis. It is such a rich area of study that I plan on incorporating it into my work and life for the foreseeable future.
Currently, in my life, I am still pursuing my choreographic career as well as running chuthis. alongside my wonderful team, who I feel very lucky to be supported. When I am not commissioned for choreography or traveling to teach, I spend time with my mother walking on the beach in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A major challenge that has always existed for chuthis., and has presented itself more directly in the past several years, is the uphill battle of navigating how to keep a project-based non-profit dance company afloat in the United States. Earlier this year I decided to idle our non-profit sector and take the year to re-evaluate what direction we want to move towards and how we want to move in that direction as a team.
We are currently looking into ways to possibly maintain the non-profit but via fiscal sponsorship. For now, we are functioning solely under incorporation. While this is not the way I imagined the company going when I first started, it is the way that has been working for chuthis. for the time being and I am hopeful for the company’s future evolutions as well.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As an artist/creative, my work centers around dance and movement in general. Whether I am in the role of director, choreographer, educator, or collaborator, my career has always centered around the body and the various ways of incorporating movement. If I was to explain my influences more specifically in my choreography, I would acknowledge that I come from a background of jazz, modern, ballet, hip-hop, funk, contemporary, and improvisation. All of my experiences in each of these forms undoubtedly shape my work across different creative contexts.
In addition to a heavy focus on dance and movement, I am also very collaborative in my approach to the projects I engage with. From working with dancers, lighting designers, costume designers, stage managers, etcetera, I believe that every creative process involves some form of collaboration, and therefore I approach each process with this mindset. While every artist has a different definition of collaboration, I always find it fascinating to see how others work and how we can ultimately meet in a form or method of collaboration that ultimately allows us to arrive at the intended destination.
What’s next?
A plan I have for chuthis. is to continue creating opportunities in which the chuthis. team can continue to work together and share unique experiences that are grounded in the company’s core values of community, sustainability, curiosity, and compassion.
Personally, as an artist, I desire to continue creating and making dances and/or creatively directing productions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.peterchuthis.net
- Instagram: @peterchuthis
- Facebook: facebook.com/peterchuthis
- Twitter: @peterchuthis
- Youtube: youtube.com/c/PeterChuthis
Image Credits
Photos by Sacha Grootjans
