Wendy Whelan: New York City ballet's edgy ballerina - Critical Essay

Dance Magazine, March, 2003 by Wendy Perron

As the curtain opens on Christopher Wheeldon's Polyphonia, four women and four men stand in a row upstage. Even in stillness, one dancer stands out. With hollows in her upper arms and hips, she looks more like a fascinating sculpture than a lovely ballerina. But for anyone who has seen Wendy Whelan dance, the heart quickens. In roles that range from the regal Titania of A Midsummer Night's Dream to the lethal predator of The Cage, from the sinuous Coffee in The Nutcracker to the broken lines of Agon, from the poignance of Odette in Swan Lake to the powerful geometry of Red Angels, Whelan dances with a breathtaking energy and daring. Her etched outlines compel the eye to watch. Her body sometimes seems pulled in opposite directions, charging the space with a kind of electricity.

Her dancing was declared "the miracle" of New York City Ballet's spring season in 2001 by DANCE MAGAZINE Advisor/ Senior Editor Lynn Garafola (see Reviews, DANCE MAGAZINE, October 2001, page 92). And last summer her performances in London with an offshoot company garnered her critical praise describing her as "astounding," "seductive," and "awesome."

But for those who like their ballerinas soft and feminine, Whelan is not a favorite. She is rail-thin, with wiry arms and jutting ribs that strike some as unhealthy. To many observers, however, she is a world-class ballerina with a bold, original style. Wendy Whelan is the ballerina modern dancers love.

Growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, Whelan had a surplus of energy. When she was 2 1/2, a sister was born. "Apparently I used to jump on the baby," she remembers. "My mom said, `Get this middle child out of the house!' and she took me to the same ballet teacher she had."

While studying with Virginia Wooton, she said she "saw The Nutcracker, got the record, and just went bananas! I performed it every day for everybody. By then my little sister was my backup dancer." At 8, Whelan was chosen by Artistic Director Alun Jones to appear as a mouse in the Louisville Ballet's Nutcracker, and she also started studying at the Louisville Ballet Academy. By 10, she was taking class every weekday.

It wasn't all smooth sailing at ballet class. Whelan was frustrated by her lack of coordination. "I was a little slower than the other girls," she recalled. "Pas de bourree was very hard for me. I remember Alun telling one of the girls, `Take her into the corner and teach her how to do that.'"

At 13 she was given a scholarship to take the summer course at the School of American Ballet in New York. At 15,

she left home and enrolled at SAB full-time. At first she resisted the directions to "be pretty," but eventually absorbed the school's formidable training. After a while, she said, "I could do anything they asked me to do."

She joined NYCB in January of 1986. As a corps member she still had trouble learning steps, so she would go home and write out pages of notes. But her dancing set an example for her peers. Margaret Tracey, whose career paralleled Whelan's, said, "From the moment I met her she had an amazing facility. She's incredibly grounded in her dancing, but never heavy. I tried to learn from her groundedness. When she steps out onstage, you're never nervous."

Whelan also caught the attention of Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins, who chose her to dance in a small, new ballet, Les Petit Riens (1987). Said Whelan, "I was surprised, but I knew Peter trusted me technically."

Sixteen years and countless lead roles later, Martins still trusts her. "She has a fantastic work ethic," said Martins, "and that's a huge part of a successful career. She works hard and she works intelligently." A principal since 1991, Whelan takes company class or goes to Wilhelm Burmann, a popular teacher at Steps on Broadway. "I can't do without class," she said. "I'm not good when I'm on my own. I have to have that whip." But she's clear about how class and stage are different: "In class you're trying to control what's going to happen, and onstage you're allowing things to happen."

When asked what makes a good partner, she answered, "I like any guy who will look into my eyes. Then I can relax and let go." She often dances with Jock Soto, who is known for his excellent partnering. "Jock makes most of my lines for me. It looks like I am, but I couldn't do it without him."

Although some observers feel she embodies George Balanchine's neoclassical ideals, she came to the company after his death in 1983. "I'm usually in awe," she said about his ballets. "It's like a perfect puzzle every time between movement and music. And I'm always discovering new things in his choreography."

But it is the current director of City Ballet to whom she is devoted. It was Peter Martins who singled her out from the corps. It was Martins who cast her in one lead role after another. "Very few people can do everything," he said. "She comes pretty damn close."

Martins's support did not prevent her from getting stage fright. "Before my first Dewdrop, my body turned to rubber and I couldn't even make it through class." As she gained confidence, she lost her nervousness in new roles.