Wendy Whelan

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Wendy Whelan (born May 7, 1967) is a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and has worked with the company for 30 years.

She has appeared in performances around the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia as a guest artist with The Royal Ballet and the Kirov Ballet.

Whelan has also been a popular guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.

Whelan was named Associate Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet in 2019.

Early life

Whelan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where she began dancing at the age of three. She began formal training at the Louisville Ballet Academy when she was eight years old, after being a mouse in The Nutcracker with the Louisville Ballet. She had severe scoliosis and had to wear a brace at age 12, and was forced to wear a brace. In 1981, she was granted a scholarship to the School of American Ballet's summer intensive program. She was asked to stay in New York and train but decided to return to Kentucky and study at J. Graham Brown School, a public high school, because she was only 14 years old. She re-auditioned for SAB's summer course in the next year, this time before Karin von Aroldingen was accepted again and stayed in New York afterward. George Balanchine was only ever encountered by Whelan. He died on the day she performed one of his performances for the first time as a corps member in Western Symphony at an SAB showcase.

Personal life

In September 2005, Whelan married photographer David Michalek. They live in New York City.

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Career

In 1984, Whelan first joined the NYCB as an apprentice and in 1986, he became involved in the company's corps de ballet. In 1989, she was promoted to soloist and then principal dancer in 1991. She had appeared in lead roles in George Balanchine's films and worked with Jerome Robbins. In 2001, Whelan collaborated with Christopher Wheeldon in Polyphonia, Wheeldon's first ballet, and inspired Whelan's discovery as a dancer. In 12 of Wheeldon's ballets, notably Liturgy and After the Rain, Whelan continued to appear, including After the Rain. In addition, Whelan has worked with Alexei Ratmansky in projects such as Russian Seasons and Concerto DSCH. Twyla Tharp, Wayne McGregor, and William Forsythe were among the choreographers she worked with. She performed in over 40 ballets and is said to have performed with more choreographers than any dancer in the company's history.

She appeared with The Royal Ballet in London and the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, as well as with Wheeldon's Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, outside of NYCB. Restless Creature, a new collaborative project started in 2012, she created a new collaborative venture. She unveiled this initiative at Jacob's Pillow in 2013. Whelan selected four choreographers, including Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks, and Alejandro Cerrudo, to create dances for her. She has performed this role on national tour. It consists of four solos and duets, with Whelan and its choreographer performing each duet.

Whelan began suffering pains in her right hip following a collision in 2012. She underwent hip surgery in 2013 and then physical therapy. She has since returned to the stage. Restless Creature, Wendy Whelan's film debut in 2017, followed Whelan through her hip replacement and recovery, the project's development, and the last two years of her NYCB career.

After 30 years with the organization, Whelan left NYCB in 2014. Within minutes, her farewell appearance had been sold out. La sonnambula by Balanchine, pas de six from Dances at a Gathering by Robbins, Concerto DSCH, and Wheeldon and Ratmansky's new work entitled From 2nd Hands.

Since being barred from ballet, she turned her attention to contemporary dance. In 2015, she appeared in a mixed bill titled Whelan/Watson: Other Stories, alongside Royal Ballet principal Edward Watson in Linbury Studio Theatre, London, which was in London.

Starting in November 2014, Whelan was named an Artistic Associate in charge of designing new projects at New York City Center. Whelan attended Barnard College from November 2015 to May 2017. Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition for the Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2017 she produced her own sketch.

Whelan was regarded as a potential new director after Peter Martins' departure in 2018 after allegations of emotional and physical abuse. Over 15,000 signatures were collected on a petition to add her. In February 2019, Whelan was appointed as Associate Artistic Director of the NYCB. Jonathan Stafford, who had been serving as an interim leader, had been named Artistic Director. The two said they intended to work as partners; Stafford will be in charge of artistic operations, while Whelan oversees programming. This is the first time anyone in the NYCB has never lived with Balanchine.

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Awards and honours

• 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