Classical ballet training has been criticized for prioritizing technical excellence over creativity,despite 21st century dancers needing to be strong in both aspects. The aim of this study was toinvestigate professional choreographers’ views on (a) how ballet training inspired vs. inhibitedtheir creativity and (b) potential gender differences in this regard. Eight choreographers (50%female) participated in semi-structured interviews, with transcripts analyzed using thematicanalysis. The key theme was created from accounts of how ballet training impacted on interviewees’Intrinsic motivation to create, fed into by experiences of Autonomy, Variety andOpportunities. Experiences of significant autonomy thwarting were considered to have inhibitedcreativity; this was one of several areas of gender difference, and a reason for participants topursue choreography rather than stay employed as dancers. In following the emergentRecommendations for schools, it is possible that Intrinsic motivation to create could be betternurtured in ballet training.