The PNB studios are full of energy, as several PNB Company dancers, including Luther DeMyer, Ashton Edwards, Zsilas Michael Hughes, Leah Terada, Lily Wills, and the co-choreographer team of Dylan Wald and Elle Macy create new work on the Professional Division students, the most advanced students at PNB School. These new creations will premiere at NEXT STEP on May 15 and 16, 2026. Peek into the choreographic notebooks of several of the NEXT STEP choreographers below!
“I have had three major points of inspiration in the creation of my ballet. The first comes from the circumstances in which the music I selected, Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, was created. During World War II Messiaen was captured by the Germans and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp for nine months. During this time, he composed the Quartet for the End of Time for himself and three other prisoners at the camp who were also musicians. The first performance of this work was at the prison camp for an audience of fellow inmates and prison guards. Messiaen overcame a horrifying circumstance to compose an incredible piece of music that is still performed today. I find this tenacity to create very inspiring, especially considering the tumultuous political and social climate we are currently living through.
The second major inspiration for my ballet has come from the prints and drawings of German artist Käthe Kollwitz. She lived in Germany through both World Wars, and her art depicts the suffering she experienced and witnessed in a brutally honest way. She said, “I felt that I have no right to withdraw from the responsibility of being an advocate. It is my duty to voice the sufferings of men, the never-ending sufferings heaped mountain-high.”
The final inspiration for my piece has been the incredibly talented Professional Division students I have gotten to work with. Their technique, artistry, and intelligence have brought my ballet to life in ways I could never imagine.”
Inspirational Images:
PUSH, Hughes’s second original composition and original choreography set on the PDs. It celebrates the triumphant victory after a tumultuous battle. It’s a piece centered around reaping the manifestations that were a formed from seeds to lifelong accomplishments. The work of going into the dark can be recognized as an enlightening experience. Push is the accepted feat and the reward of known strength that surpasses your understanding. The dancers dance in representation of the grit; almost barefoot and hungry. It is as if they were to have never spoken a word, with all encompassing access to the original encyclopedia. A contemporary lyrical piece that transcends the space of a studio and provides a real world experience.
“Everything ain’t as pretty as it seems, and that in itself is beautiful. ” -Zsilas Michael Hughes
“Three is a foundational number in storytelling, the smallest unit needed to create a pattern and satisfy the brain’s desire for structure, rhythm, and closure. This piece follows three dancers across overlapping ‘timelines,’ curious how patterns of connection are formed, held, and forgotten. From my doodled sketches of an anticipated musical topography, alongside illustrations of relationships between dancers and their separate trajectories, Austrian composer and hurdy gurdy virtuoso Matthias Loibner builds a score that flies through landscapes of melodies and clamor and celebrates junctures of shared presence. As timelines overlap and separate, from colors of sun and steel considers how relationships shift and how we, as an audience, can’t help but search for connection, understanding, and balance within them.”
Leah’s Doodled Sketch:
Click here to see more images inspiring Lily’s piece.
“In my piece this year, I wanted to tell four distinct stories that reveal our humanity. The first, a playful romp with friends, flirty and joyful. The second: an internal battle between what’s right and wrong, intrusive thoughts, and innate human good. The last two movements explore relationships between two people. One, a partnership fated not to last, two lovers who can never quite find each other at the right time. The last movement is a story of meaningful connection where both parties feel safe to show all parts of themselves, good and bad, and be uplifted by each other, no matter what.
Connecting to each other’s humanity is so important in our current times. The intimate setting of a studio performance will no doubt enhance the experience of this year’s NEXT STEP works. What a wonderful thing it is to share the up-close art we experience in our studios every day! My hope is that those who watch my ballet will find something within it to relate to—resonating with our shared experience of life on earth.”
“To Echo is inspired by both pairings and pace. Also, from the music written by the incredible Michael Wall, who will be performing the work live in the studio!”
NEXT STEP is part of RELEVÉ, PNB’s initiative to engage youth in the choreographic pipeline. RELEVÉ is generously supported by Allen Family Philanthropies. Their investment in this initiative enables PNB to focus on mission-driven programming for our community, which fulfills our guiding principle: to inspire, engage, and educate through dance.
