A Creature Of Creation

New works always in the repertoire of celebrated ballerina

Wendy Whelan, who recently retired as the principal dancer at the City Ballet of New York City, brings her newest show to the Walton Arts Center on Saturday.
Wendy Whelan, who recently retired as the principal dancer at the City Ballet of New York City, brings her newest show to the Walton Arts Center on Saturday.

Even in retirement, Wendy Whelan stays modern and new.

The renowned dancer left City Ballet of New York, where she had been principal since 1991, in October. She's now touring with her show "Restless Creature," which features her in duets with four choreographers. The show visits the Walton Arts Center on Saturday night for a performance as part of the venue's 10x10 series.

FAQ

‘Wendy Whelan: Restless Creature’

WHEN — 8 p.m. Saturday

WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville

COST — $10-$25

INFO — 443-5600 or waltonartscenter.org

In a profile in the New York Times upon her departure from City Ballet, she described anyone still in ballet after 40 as "a dinosaur." At 47, and recovering from a substantial hip injury after a fall in rehearsal, she was ready for a new challenge.

She talks. She teaches. She raises money for charitable causes. And, perhaps above all, she still dances.

"I feel really good physically," she says in a recent phone conversation, noting she's probably at 75 to 80 percent of her peak capacity. For someone the Times called "America's greatest contemporary ballerina," that's still an extraordinary level.

Whelan was born in Louisville, Ky., and started dancing at age 3. She studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City in the early 1980s, and she joined City Ballet in 1984. During her career, she performed numbers by Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon and more. Many of those pieces were debuts.

"I have a modern look, a modern body, a modern style," she says. "I bring a lot of newness, and choreographers picked up on that even before I knew I had that."

It's fitting, then, that her current work is also thoroughly modern. Among her many post-retirement options, the foundation for "Restless Creature" percolated to the top, she says. She wanted the work to feature duets, which she always believed were a strength of hers. It features the work of four young choreographers -- Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Bryan Brooks and Alejandro Cerrudo -- designing works for Whelan. The works were all put together around the time of her injury and represent her new path forward.

"They were so caring but not buckling to please me," Whelan says of the choreographers who double as her touring dance partners.

The five performers are traveling around the country to present the works, as they will this weekend in Fayetteville.

While in town, Whelan will also lead a master class for local dancers. She promises to work on nice, balanced structures, the kind that kept her injury free for the vast majority of her long career.

Following the conclusion of her tour, Whelan will debut a new work this summer with Edward Watson, currently the principal of the Royal Ballet of London. She's currently at work on a third project, set for a November debut, she says.

NAN What's Up on 04/17/2015

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