(It received arave reviewfromThe New York Times.)
Its a busy day off, she says, smiling.
In 2019, she woke up one morning with debilitating neck pain.
Courtesy of Tiler Peck/Jared Siskin/Getty Images/Amanda K Bailey
Though she was able to quickly resume dancing, one month later she was diagnosed with a herniated disc.
Doctors said that her career might be over.
As dancers, were used to being told what to do and where to go, Peck says.
Courtesy of Tiler Peck
Miraculously, Peck was back on stage seven months laterand now, shes more motivated than ever.
Nobody talks in the back of the class.
At the time, the teachers seemed scary.
Courtesy of the New York City Ballet
I remember I wanted to talk, introduce myself, and make new friends.
When I waved to someone, the other student shrugged me off.
I didnt know that this was how it worked thereits very, very strict.
Tiler’s first day back in the studio post-injury.
In jazz, you do lots of pirouettesthey teach you lots of turns.
At SAB, theyre very specific and they want two clean turns and then come down.
I was used to being able to do that kind of thing.
Courtesy of Tiler Peck
And that was quite young.
I said, Of course I can do a double.
He said, Well, of course it’s possible for you to, because youre a principal dancer.
Courtesy of Tiler Peck
He just kept choreographing and said, Youre all principals.
There were five of us in the room, and he promoted us all that way.
But who knows until you actually try, especially if you really love something.
I love to dance so muchI still do.
It doesnt feel like a job.
It just feels like something I love to do every single day.
I was like, Well, Im getting ready to go to class.
Tomorrows our opening night.
I was supposed to be in three ballets that season.
He said, You cant go to class.
And I was like, What do you mean?
I was just dancing yesterday.
The first thing I thought was, But Ill be able to dance again at some point, right?
And he was like, Well, were just going to have to take that day by day.
I want that to be my decision.
It felt like that was getting taken away from me.
I saw six different doctors after that, and my physical therapist went with me to every single appointment.
And so thats what I did.
It wasnt that he said, This is going to heal.
Those are there to help, but its not the full person.
You have to feel like youre understood and heard.
So to my younger self, I wouldve said that nobody knows your body better than you.
Yes, you have to trust the professionals opinions.
Thats what I would say: Dont ever rush into anything because of fear.
I said, Daddy, I want to dance on that stage someday, when I was 11.
When my dad got sick, I was flying back to California every other weekend while in season.
But he was so proud of me.
He loved watching me dance.
My dad wouldnt want me to be sitting around just crying and not doing what I love.
He would want me to continue dancing and thinking more about the great times that we had together.
It was a big deal for me.
Not many dancers who are currently dancing get to choreograph for the company, let alone female dancers.
I had to start choreographing four days after my dad passed away.
Wednesday I went into the studio and started choreographing.
I feel like he carried me through it, because he was with me every single day.
Im not dancing in it.
I want to be able to experience it.
So my advice: Dont put anything out of your reach until youve tried it.
Dont sell yourself short.
But when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, sometimes thats when really great things happen.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
