Peter Davison
Poet of Motion
Peter Davison is a mingler of movement arts, weaving influences from circus, dance, and physical theatre to create poetry of motion.
With joyful ingenuity Peter brings everyday objects to life—as partners in a dance, or characters in a story—to create a singular expression of humanity.
Peter was born in 1961 and raised in Santa Monica, California in a supportive and creative family. His boyhood idols were Alexander Calder and Batman. Peter initiated his performing arts career when he learned to juggle at age twelve. Through his teenage years, Peter learned to captivate non-captive audiences as a busker on the streets of Los Angeles, and in 1979 got a gig as a juggler in the movie Xanadu with Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.
In 1982, Peter joined Jon Held and Kezia Tenenbaum to form the innovative juggling and movement troupe Airjazz. Airjazz won first place in the team category—and Peter won first place in the solo category—at the 1982 International Jugglers Assn. Championships. Airjazz went on to tour for over a decade, appearing at venues such as the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Hong Kong Arts Carnival, and New Zealand International Arts Festival, and on national TV shows in seven countries.
Peter has also performed solo at theaters and festivals internationally, and on the CBS, BBC, and Fox TV networks.
Peter trained in ballet, modern dance, and tap dance primarily with Barbara Demaree, Danelle Helander, Larry Boyette, Donald Mahler, Finis Jhung, Susan Hadley, and Lynn Dally. As a professional dancer, Peter has performed works by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Robert North, Mark Dendy, Milenko Banovich, Hannah Kahn, Kathryn Elliott, Mel Wong, David Taylor, Kim Robards, Jan Justis, and James Clouser, among others.
In 1998, Peter originated the Boyz Dance training program to engage male students with multi-disciplinary movement arts. Many of Peter's students over the years have gone on to professional performing careers in dance and circus arts.
From 2004 through 2015, Peter was Co-Artistic Director of Boulder Ballet, where he created numerous dance/theatre works for the professional company and students. Peter's choreography has also been performed by David Taylor Dance Theater, St. Paul Ballet, Ballet Co.Laboratory, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, among others.
Peter is a recipient of the 2009 Ballet Builders Award, leading to his work being presented in New York City by New Choreographers on Point.
In 2015, Peter joined dancer Jennifer Aiken to found Objectivity Dance Theater, mixing dance, physical theatre, and circus arts.
Today, Peter continues to create enchantments with objects ordinarily considered ordinary.
"Consummate movement artist Peter Davison's new one-man show makes for an enchanting evening...It's one amazing bit after another, some tantalizingly brief, all brilliant."
—Dance Magazine
"Davison turns his juggling bit into a graceful variation on modern dance...refreshing."
—Variety
"A stunning display of sheer virtuosity...artistic, seemingly effortless perfection."
—The San Francisco Examiner
"Davison covers an enormous territory...and manages throughout to hold, captivate and
win an audience all the way."
—The Denver Post
"I know more about being human for having seen him. Peter Davison took juggling and
movement so far beyond their usual limits that they were no longer juggling and
movement. They were art."
—The Carmel Pine Cone
"It has something to do with movement, something to do with objects moving in space
and everything to do with wonder. By the end of his one-man performance, the audience
is on its feet—children and grandmothers, overaged hippies and business people—cheering and stamping."
—The Boulder Daily Camera
“Davison soft-shoed it with six balls and no sweat.”
—The Dominion (Wellington, New Zealand)
"My favourite on the programme was a pair of excerpts from Peter Davison's Cirque D'Amour. These two snippets were a pleasure...both beautiful in their own ways."
—Dance Europe Magazine
"So much the better for the lucky audience that got to experience Peter Davison's charming and heartbreaking work Bella Luna...[it] hit all the right marks, weaving an enchanting tale with a sense of wonder."
—The Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Davison brings an imaginative, entertaining approach to [Ragtime], justifying his receipt of the Ballet Builders Award...each of the seven sections has a surprisingly distinctive identity, with Davison making ample but not excessive use of props."
—The Denver Post
"A bit of fancy closed the evening. Peter Davison, utilizing his past as a circus and street performer, had his dancers fully and playfully explore various props... Like the best of the pieces presented, it fulfilled what it set out to do and then some."
—Theater Scene, New York
Ball juggling on the Paul Daniels Show, BBC TV, 1985. Music: Claude Bolling.
Later ball juggling on Harry Anderson's TV special, CBS TV, 1996. Music: John Carney.
Sticks, Ball, & Hoop, 2007. Music: Wil Masisak.
Excerpts from Peter's New Vaudeville Show, 2016. Music: Jesse Manno, plus various.
Tabled Objects, 2017. Music: Frédéric Chopin.
Club juggling on the Paul Daniels Easter Special, BBC TV, 1985. Music: Benny Goodman/BBC studio band.
Blapfloop, 1986.
Banana, 1999 reunion. Music: Chick Corea.
Take Off, 1999 reunion. Music: Kraftwerk.
International Jugglers Assn. Historical Achievement Award Video.
Choreography Reel, Boulder Ballet, 2008 - 2010. Music: Jesse Manno.
An American in Paris (excerpts), Boulder Ballet, 2007. Music: George Gershwin.
Someone, Danced by Alex Davison (Peter's son), 2009. Music: George & Ira Gershwin/Sting.
Baroque Diversions, Objectivity Dance Theater, 2015. Music: Domenico Scarlatti/Ivo Pogorelich.
