Wendy Whelan is known throughout the dance community for her clean lines, her dedication to the arts, her mastery of skill and her passion for movement. Outside of the dance community, she is recognized as the prima ballerina. She sells out shows. She livens up the stage. Choreographers from around the world generate movements simply to see Wendy actualize them. She dominates the American ballet scene, and she’s been doing so for three decades.
On Saturday, October 18th, Whelan gave her last performance with New York City Ballet, and to no one’s surprise—the show sold out in minutes.
She joined the company at age seventeen, and, through pure dedication, was able to move up quickly and gracefully to become the prima ballerina. Pursuing her dream despite suffering from scoliosis seemed like a no-brainer to Whelan, who would refuse to miss ballet lessons, even if it meant plié-ing and arabesque-ing while wearing a fifteen-pound cast. Her strength obviously paid off, because she was able to plié and arabesque all the way from Louisville, Kentucky to the ‘Big Apple’ before she was old enough to vote or order a beer. Now, at forty-seven years old, she is still leaping and spinning, and doing things most of us could only dream about!
Whelan has appeared for years in roles such as the Sugarplum Fairy and Coffee in the yearly favorite, The Nutcracker, but has most notably been regarded for her contemporary work within the company. Working with choreographers such as Christopher Wheeldon and Twyla Tharp, Wendy Whelan was able to bring new life to a company that had since become (some would say) monotonous with tradition—a company that had not yet been inspired to break the ever-so-classic pirouette mold. She traversed the contemporary-ballet spectrum beautifully, and will continue this balance post-New York City Ballet.
Whelan has said on many occasions that to retire any time before or after her thirty-year mark with the company would have seemed inappropriate somehow, and that she looks forward to choreographing modern pieces and to her new role as Artistic Associate of City Center Manhattan. On October 18th, Whelan, in peak physicality, danced her final show on her own terms. Wendy Whelan, the reigning prima ballerina, may no longer star in age-old performances, but her legacy of excellence and innovation will live on for years to come.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2792878/A-beloved-American-bal…