Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and is a guest artist with The Royal Ballet and the Kirov Ballet and has performed all over the U.S., South America, Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.
Video Wendy Whelan
Early life
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, she began her dance training with local teacher, Virginia Wooton, at the age of three. At the age of eight and after performing as a mouse in The Nutcracker with the Louisville Ballet, she joined Louisville Ballet Academy, where she started formal training. At the age of 12, it was discovered that Whelan had severe scoliosis. To help correct the curvature in her spine, she wore a heavy plaster cast while in ballet class but also strengthened her core and back muscles. In 1981, at the age of 14, she received a scholarship to the summer course at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, joining as a full-time student a year later.
Maps Wendy Whelan
Career
Whelan joined the NYCB in 1984 as an apprentice and entered the company's corps de ballet January 1986. She was promoted to soloist in 1989, and to principal dancer in 1991. She has a repertoire of more than 50 ballets, including pieces by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Twyla Tharp, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Shen Wei, Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky, and others. Whelan has performed as a guest artist with The Royal Ballet and with the Kirov Ballet.
In 2012, she began a new collaborative project titled Restless Creature. She premiered this project at Jacob's Pillow in 2013. Whelan chose four choreographers--Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks, and Alejandro Cerrudo--to create dances for her. She has taken this production on national tour. It consists of four solos and duets, with Whelan dancing each duet with its choreographer.
In 2014 she announced her departure from the New York City Ballet, with her farewell performance being on October 18.
Whelan was appointed an Artistic Associate for developing new projects at New York's City Center for a 2-year term from November 2014. Whelan has also been an artist-in-residence at Barnard College since November 2015.
Style
Whelan is known for her angular body and muscularity, particularly suited to the Balanchine style. However, with Balanchine's death in 1983, the day of the SAB spring workshop's performance of Western Symphony in which she debuted in the corps, she only had encountered him once, the previous year being her first at the SAB.
Awards
- 2007: Nominated for an Olivier Award and a Critics' Circle Award for her performances with the Morphoses/Wheeldon Company.
- 2007: Dance Magazine award
- 2009: Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Bellarmine University
- 2011: The Jerome Robbins Award
- 2011: Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance
Health
The ballerina has openly spoken about conquering scoliosis after being diagnosed at age 12.
Following an accident in 2012, Whelan began experiencing pains in her right hip. In the August following her performance at Jacob's Pillow, Wendy had reconstructive surgery on her hip to correct a labral tear. After months of rehabilitation and physical therapy, Whelan completed the 2014 season with NYCB.
Personal life
Whelan married photographer David Michalek in September 2005. They reside in New York City.
Originated roles
- Ulysses Dove: Red Angels
- Jorma Elo: Slice to Sharp
- Albert Evans: In a Landscape
- William Forsythe: Herman Schmerman
- Peter Martins: Ash, Jazz (Six Syncopated Movements), Les petits riens
- Wayne McGregor: Outlier
- Alexei Ratmansky: Concerto DSCH, Namouna, A Grand Divertissement, Russian Seasons
- Jerome Robbins: Brandenburg
- Lynne Taylor-Corbett: The Seven Deadly Sins
- Christopher Wheeldon: After the Rain, Les Carillons, Klavier, Liturgy, Morphoses, The Nightingale and the Rose, Polyphonia, This Bitter Earth - excerpt from Five Movements, Three Repeats
References
External links
- Cupcakes & Conversation with Wendy Whelan. Ballet News. December 12, 2012.
- Archive film of Wendy Whelan and Peter Boal dancing Herman Schmerman in 2004 at Jacob's Pillow
- Archival footage of Wendy Whelan in a post-show talk discussing Restless Creature in 2013 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.
- Archival footage of Wendy Whelan performing Brian Brooks' First Fall in 2013 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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