Wendy Whelan
| Wendy Whelan | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 7, 1967 |
| Occupation | ballet dancer |
Wendy Whelan (/ˈhwiːlən/; born May 7, 1967) was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and is a guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.
Early life
A native of Louisville, Kentucky (USA), she began her dance training with local teacher, Virginia Wooton at the age of three. After performing as a mouse in The Nutcracker with the Louisville Ballet she joined Louisville Ballet Academy where she started formal training. In 1981, 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.[1]
Career
Wendy joined NYCB in 1984 as an apprentice and entered the company's corps de ballet January 1986.[2] 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, and others.
Whelan is particularly known for her angular body and muscularity particularly suited to the Balanchine style. However, with Balanchine's death in 1983, a year after Whelan arrived at SAB, she only met him once.
In 2014 she announced her departure from the New York City Ballet with her farewell performance being on October 18.[3]
Advocacy
The ballerina has openly spoken about conquering scoliosis after being diagnosed at age 12.[4][5]
Personal life
Whelan married photographer David Michalek in September 2005.[6]
Originated Roles
Ulysses Dove
- Red Angels
Jorma Elo
Albert Evans
- In a Landscape
William Forsythe
- Herman Schmerman
Peter Martins
- Ash
- Jazz
- Les petits riens
Wayne McGregor
Alexei Ratmansky
- Concerto DSCH
- Namouna, A Grand Divertissement
- Russian Seasons
Jerome Robbins
Lynne Taylor-Corbett
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
- ↑ "Wendy Whelan - New York City Ballet". Nycballet.com. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ↑ Kourlas, Gia (9 August 2013). "A Ballerina in a New Realm". New York Times (New York City, United States). Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- ↑ Sulcas, Roslyn (2014-10-03). "Wendy Whelan Says Farewell to City Ballet". The New York Times (New York: NYTC). ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ↑ "Dance Magazine". Thefreelibrary.com. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ↑ "Amazon.com". Amazon.com. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ↑ NY Times Article
External links
- Official NYCB Bio
- "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.
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