Running time:
Approximately 2 Hours
Choreographer
JUSTIN PECK is a two-time Tony Award winning director, choreographer, filmmaker, and dancer based in New York City. He is the Resident Choreographer of the New York City Ballet, and only the second person in the institution’s 75-year history to hold this title. He has developed and created over 50 stage and theater works that have been presented on stages around the world, including Lincoln Center, the Palais Garnier, Sydney Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Broadway (most recently: conceiving, directing and choreographing the 2024 Tony Award-winning production of Illinoise).
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON, OBE (Director & Choreographer) trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 1998. He was named NYCB’s first Resident Choreographer in July 2001. Since then, Mr. Wheeldon has created and staged productions for many of the world’s major ballet companies: San Francisco Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, and Hamburg Ballet among others.
Founding artistic director and resident choreographer of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dwight Rhoden performed with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has choreographed for New York City Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BalletMet, Colorado Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, The Washington Ballet, Ballet Nice Mediterranean, and Rome Opera Ballet, among others. Rhoden has directed and choreographed for television, film, and theater, including So You Think You Can Dance, Cirque du Soleil, world tours for Prince and Lenny Kravitz, and the film One Last Dance. Honors include a New York Foundation for the Arts award, a Benois de la Danse Award nomination for The Great Gatsby (the Mariinsky Ballet), induction into the NYFA Hall of Fame, the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, and an Honorary Doctorate from Boston Conservatory.
Murmuration Choreography by Edwaard Liang The work, commissioned by Houston Ballet, was inspired by the flight patterns of starlings, with hundreds of birds moving through the sky as one. Performed …
Reignite Your Soul Through Dance
Prepare to be transformed by Moving Forces, featuring four distinct ballets, each a potent exploration of human emotion designed to resonate deeply within you.
Ignite your spirit with Justin Peck’s The Times Are Racing. Experience raw energy, street style fused with grace, as bodies pulse to a score mirroring today’s heartbeat.
Find solace in Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain. Watch as figures intertwine, revealing tender connections, a testament to love’s enduring power.
Experience the divine in Dwight Rhoden’s Ave Maria. Witness movement become a prayer, feel profound grace, and connect on a deeply human level.
Feel the life flow with Edwaard Liang’s “Tributary.” Embark on an introspective journey, where dancers embody life’s currents, reflecting our shared experience.
Moving Forces is all about feeling. Come, and let dance move you.
THE WASHINGTON BALLET IS A 501(3) NON-PROFIT PERFORMING ARTS ORGANIZATION. THIS EVENT IS AN EXTERNAL RENTAL PRESENTED IN COORDINATION WITH THE KENNEDY CENTER CAMPUS RENTALS OFFICE AND IS NOT PRODUCED BY THE KENNEDY CENTER.
The Times Are Racing | Choreography by Justin Peck
After The Rain | Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon
Ava Maria | Choreography by Dwight Rhoden
Tributary | Choreography by Edwaard Liang
October 2025
Calendar for Moving Forces
Eisenhower Theater – The Kennedy Center 8:00pm
Eisenhower Theater – The Kennedy Center 2:00pm Eisenhower Theater – The Kennedy Center 8:00pm
Eisenhower Theater – The Kennedy Center 2:00pm
Location
Choreographer
JUSTIN PECK is a two-time Tony Award winning director, choreographer, filmmaker, and dancer based in New York City. He is the Resident Choreographer of the New York City Ballet, and only the second person in the institution’s 75-year history to hold this title. He has developed and created over 50 stage and theater works that have been presented on stages around the world, including Lincoln Center, the Palais Garnier, Sydney Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Broadway (most recently: conceiving, directing and choreographing the 2024 Tony Award-winning production of Illinoise).
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON, OBE (Director & Choreographer) trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 1998. He was named NYCB’s first Resident Choreographer in July 2001. Since then, Mr. Wheeldon has created and staged productions for many of the world’s major ballet companies: San Francisco Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, and Hamburg Ballet among others.
Founding artistic director and resident choreographer of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Dwight Rhoden performed with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has choreographed for New York City Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BalletMet, Colorado Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, The Washington Ballet, Ballet Nice Mediterranean, and Rome Opera Ballet, among others. Rhoden has directed and choreographed for television, film, and theater, including So You Think You Can Dance, Cirque du Soleil, world tours for Prince and Lenny Kravitz, and the film One Last Dance. Honors include a New York Foundation for the Arts award, a Benois de la Danse Award nomination for The Great Gatsby (the Mariinsky Ballet), induction into the NYFA Hall of Fame, the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography, and an Honorary Doctorate from Boston Conservatory.
Murmuration Choreography by Edwaard Liang The work, commissioned by Houston Ballet, was inspired by the flight patterns of starlings, with hundreds of birds moving through the sky as one. Performed …