Christopher Wheeldon

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Christopher Wheeldon (born March 22, 1973 in Somerset, England) [1] is among the most sought-after and critically acclaimed contemporary ballet choreographers in the world. [2]

Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18. In 1991, Wheeldon joined the Royal Ballet, London. In 1993, at the age of 19, Wheeldon moved to New York City to join the prestigious New York City Ballet. Wheeldon was named Soloist in 1998.

Wheeldon began choreographing for the New York City Ballet in 1997, while continuing his career as a dancer for the troupe. An immediate success as a choreographer, he retired as a dancer in 2000 in order to focus on his burgeoning career as a choreographer.

In 2001, Wheeldon became the New York City Ballet's Resident Choreographer. He was productive as Resident Choreographer, choreographing a number of much lauded works for his troupe. He quickly developed a reputation as a talented choreographer, and several other eminent ballet companies, such as the San Francisco Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, and the Royal Ballet, London have commissioned dances from him. As of May, 2003, Wheeldon had composed at least 23 works, including Continuum, Quaternary, Morphoses, Tryst, and Polyphonia. [3]

In November, 2006, in what was widely regarded as an audacious move, Wheeldon resigned as Resident Choreographer of the New York City Ballet in order to form his own dance company, Morphoses. [4]