Wendy Whelan has been an iconic figure in the ballet world with a remarkable 30-year career at New York City Ballet and now as the Associate Artistic Director of the ballet corp.
This trailblazer shows her passion for dancing in ambitious projects with various cultural organizations.
This article looks at her incredible legacy and the new challenges she will take in the future.
Table of Contents
Who Is Wendy Whelan
Wendy Whelan is a highly influential ballet dancer of all time. She was a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet (NYCB) and has been acclaimed for her versatility, technical precision, and emotional range.
She has had leading roles in more than 125 ballets. This talented ballerina has collaborated with some of the greatest choreographers in the world, including George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
Her performances have been lauded for their technical precision, expressiveness, and powerful presence.
Her ability to combine the physical and emotional elements of dance has earned her a reputation as one of the most talented dancers in the world.
Her talent is displayed in her work with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, where she performed as a guest artist.
In 2019, she was named Associate Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet, proving her great skill and dedication.
Throughout her career, Wendy Whelan has also advocated for dance and maintained its artistic integrity. She inspires aspiring dancers everywhere and is a reminder of the power of artistry, technique, and passion.
Wendy Whelan’s Family
Wendy Whelan was born on May 7, 1967, in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. There’s no public information about her parents and siblings.
Wendy Whelan’s husband is David Michalek. They married in 2005.
Wendy Whelan’s Height & Weight
Wendy Whelan has an ideal height for a ballerina – 5 feet and 6 inches. She does not disclose her weight to the public.
Her angular body and muscularity have made her a favorite among audiences everywhere and earned her praise from fellow dancers. Her stunning on-stage complexity is hard not to be mesmerized.
Wendy Whelan’s Net Worth
Wendy Whelan has achieved massive success and an impressive net worth of $5 million. She is one of the wealthiest dancers in the United States.
Wendy Whelan’s Early Life and Education
What Brought Her To Ballet
She was a natural athlete and an artist at heart. But it wasn’t until she discovered the art of ballet that she realized she had found her true calling.
She found her passion in ballet after an Arabian Dance from The Nutcracker. She loved learning the structure and the physicality of ballet.
In other words, she loved the physics and science of how the body could create movements with the right amount of energy.
Early Training
Wendy Whelan embarked on her journey to becoming one of the world’s most fantastic dancers so early – at 3.
She had her first ballet lessons from Virginia Wooton in Louisville, Kentucky. Her ballet passion grew when she performed as a mouse in The Nutcracker, produced by the Louisville Ballet Academy at 8.
In 1981, at 14 years old, she auditioned at the School of American Ballet (SAB) before Suzanne Farrell. She won a scholarship for the Summer Intensive Program.
Denying the training course in New York, she returned to Kentucky to study at the J. Graham Brown School.
One year later, she gained acceptance to the SAB’s summer course. She moved to New York to join her full-time training program. This decision is a turning point in her life as a well-known dancer of all time.
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Wendy Whelan’s Dancing Career
A Long Story With The New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) has been integral to Wendy Whelan’s life as a ballet dancer. It’s where she was extensively trained and spent 30 years of her career.
After graduating, Wendy Whelan was an apprentice for NYCB. Her commitment and hard work quickly paid off. She was promoted to soloist in 1989, then principal dancer in 1991.
While with NYCB, she performed lead roles in George Balanchine’s works.
Plus, she worked with other choreographers – Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Wayne McGregor, and William Forsythe.
In 2001, she created the role in Polyphonia, Christopher Wheeldon’s breakthrough ballet. After this collaboration, she went on to originate in 12 more of his ballets, including Liturgy and After the Rain.
She created over 40 roles in ballets throughout her career, making her the NYCB dancer with the most collaborations with choreographers.
After performing at Jacob’s Pillow, she underwent reconstructive surgery on her hip, then took physical treatment and rehabilitation for several months.
On October 18, 2014, she performed her last show with NYCB. She was appointed artistic associate at NYCB in November 2014.
Her undeniable talent and dedication to dance will remain a part of NYCB’s history.
Shined Worldwide As A Star
Wendy Whelan has been globally recognized, from America, South America, Europe, to Asia.
Besides NYCB in New York and Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company in Kentucky, she has been to The Royal Ballet in London and the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky Ballet) in St. Petersburg.
New Collaborative Projects
In 2012, Wendy expanded her repertoire with her collaborative projects.
Her first project, Restless Creature, premiered at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2013.
In this inaugural project, she danced with 4 young male choreographers – Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Bryan Brooks, and Alejandro Cerrudo to create works for her to perform.
The project premiered at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2013 and was well-received.
She took Restless Creature to London in the summer of 2014, followed by performances in Vail, before embarking on a U.S. tour in January 2015.
Her second solo project, choreographed for her and Edward Watson of The Royal Ballet, premiered at the Royal Opera House in London in 2015. It marked her move from ballet to contemporary dance.
Honored Awards
Wendy Whelan earned many awards and recognition for her talent in modern dance performance.
In 2007, she received the Dance Magazine Award and was nominated for an Olivier and Critics Circle Award in London.
The following year, she was given a Doctorate of Arts by Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky.
She received a Bessie Award and The Jerome Robbins Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance in 2011.
Wendy Whelan’s Retirement
Wendy retired from the ballet industry due to some injuries.
She suffered from an inflammation in her hip hamstring in 2012, resulting in a wind down in her career that year.
Even after the reconstruction surgery, she still couldn’t return to ballet due to her disability to perform basic ballet moves.
After her retirement, Wendy Whelan has been a dedicated teacher and choreographer. She has created numerous projects, such as Hagoromo, Some Of a Thousand Words, and The Day, collaborating with cellist Maya Beiser and modern dance choreographer Lucinda Childs.
She also works on a new project with spoken word artist and activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph.
She started her Netflix documentary, Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan. This film won her the Chita Rivera Award for Best Dance Documentary.
In February 2019, she was appointed Associate Artistic Director for New York City Ballet. Her accomplishments prove her commitment to empowering women and nullifying the stigma of aging.
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Final Words
Wendy Whelan is an inspiring figure in the dance world, and her accomplishments speak for themselves.
After retirement, she still works with cultural organizations and spreads her knowledge to future artist generations.
As her journey progresses, it will be exciting to watch what she accomplishes next and how she further contributes to the art form that has been so influential throughout her life.