poetofmotion.com
Peter Davison's childhood idols were Alexander Calder and Batman, influences that led to training in visual art, juggling, and dance. While a teenager, Peter began his professional career street performing in Los Angeles. He also worked as a variety artist for Hollywood films, including a role as one of ten jugglers in the film "Xanadu" with Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John.
Peter moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1980. He studied ballet with Larry Boyette, Ana Claire, Barbara Demaree, Finis Jhung and Donald Mahler; modern dance with Danelle Helander, and tap with Susan Hadley and Lynn Dally, among others.
In 1982 Peter became a founding member of the trio Airjazz with whom he toured internationally, appearing at venues such as the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, BAM, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Peter has also been a member of David Taylor Dance Theater, Jan Justis Dance Company, Kim Robards Dance, 3rd Law Dance/Theater, and has performed principal roles with Boulder Ballet since 1987. He created and performed solo shows mixing dance, object manipulation and text at the Carmel/California Performing Arts Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Utah State Arts Tour, and has appeared as a featured soloist on the CBS, BBC and Fox television networks. Peter has received numerous awards and grants including the Arts Innovation Award from the Colorado Federation of the Arts, and the Performance Fellowship from the Colorado Council on the Arts.
Peter has taught movement and choreography at Celebration Barn Theater in Maine, Naropa Institute’s LeCoq Theater Program, the national circus schools of France and Quebec (under Cirque du Soleil director Guy Caron), and various professional workshops throughout the United States, Germany and Spain. As a current faculty member of the Boulder Ballet School, Peter teaches physical theater and Boyz Dance which introduces male students to the world of multi-disciplinary, expressive movement.
Peter and his wife Ana Claire became Co-Artistic Directors of Boulder Ballet in 2004. Since then the professional company has tripled in size and doubled the number of annual performances while remaining financially stable. Peter has created numerous choreographic works for Boulder Ballet and the students of Boulder Ballet School, and as a guest choreographer for other Colorado dance companies. Peter is a recipient of the 2009 Ballet Builders Award for Choreography, from New Choreographers on Point in New York. Excerpts from his "Cirque D'Amour" had their New York City premiere in March, 2009 at the Dicapo Opera Theater in Manhattan.
View YouTube video of early Peter Davison television performance, circa 1985.
Copyright © 2008 Peter Davison - Photos by Peggy Dyer and Jon Held.