Buddy Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I'm very interested in where Wendy Whelan is headed dance wise. Wendy Whelan in slow motion is the Wendy Whelan that I love most. This is my favorite dance clip of her, of which I've seen very few. This is the only complete work that I've seen of her from her new Restless Creature effort. It starts at 56:00 and relates to the above video best starting at 101:00. Any thoughts or comments on this and where she's headed. (both dance clips are official releases) Link to comment
Buddy Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 I've been watching the second clip above and I'm liking it very much starting at 1:03:40. These last several minutes are perhaps the most interesting and show a lot of promising future direction. There have been four short clips posted by Wendy Whelan's new production, Restless Creature, and they give a brief insight into how she is working with the four choreographer/dance partners she has chosen. In this clip with Brian Brooks she seems to be the most comfortable and the closest to her old self. This might be confirmed by the fact that it is the piece she chose to present at the Works & Process at the Guggenheim*. Here rather than trying to enter the world and minds of her contemporary dance choreographer/partners, which is her stated intent, she seems to play off what he is doing. Each with their own style seems to work together and compliment each other, rather than be each other. In addition the explorations into motion and meaning that Wendy Whelan is making seems to show up quite well in these last several minutes of dance, blending very well with her long existing excellence in airy elegance and sensitivity. What also interests me very much is the way that she has been carrying ballet sensitivity and beauty outside of ballet. For instance in Christopher Wheeldon's After The Rain (first video above) there is little if any pointe work of the feet. Working with Christopher Wheeldon and now perhaps somewhat parallel they are both extending the range of ballet. * There was at least one other work performed as well. Link to comment
Buddy Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 This clip shows Wendy Whelan and Fang-Yi Sheu, former principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company, working on a Christopher Wheeldon piece set to "This Bitter Earth/On the Nature of Daylight" (2011). You see a direction that Wendy Whelan and Christopher Wheeldon are moving in and their bringing classical and contemporary more together. Fang-Yi Sheu, shows us a contemporary dancer entering the same world from the other direction. Wendy Whelan says to Fang-Yi Sheu, "You made Chris's choreography look like it's different than he's ever done, ever, and that was really cool to see, so I think that you took Chris to a new place." (posted by the Vail International Dance Festival) An expanded version can be seen on Vimeo. This lovely ending, with Wendy Whelan, to Christopher Wheeldon's Liturgy is similar to what I once saw in a Chinese 'classical' dance, perhaps another direction for these two artists and western dance to explore. (posted by official source) Link to comment
Buddy Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 There is one other duet in the Guggenheim program (second video posted above at 19:00). I overlooked it but am enjoying it more and more with each viewing. This is Joshua Beamish's Waltz Epoca. For one thing it just flows so nicely and Wendy Whelan nuances it beautifully. Both Brian Brooks and Joshua Beamish are very exciting and interesting dancers. It's to Wendy Whelan's great credit, being a newcomer to this sort of thing, that she really hangs in there. Not only that, but with real praise to her dancer/choreographer partners, she very prominently and equally shares the spotlight. [last sentence was reworded] Link to comment
sandik Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Beamish has been making some very interesting dances -- he was part of a mixed bill here last year, and seems to be getting around elsewhere. It's tough to get established as a new choreographer. Link to comment
California Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 The big news in this interview is Whelan's plan to retire "after the fall 2014 season" at NYCB. (Has this already been announced elsewhere?) I wonder what they'll do for a retirement performance for her - hottest ticket in town, I would guess! http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/11/13/whelan-discusses-career-dance/ After 30 years with the NYCB, Whelan plans to retire from the company after fall 2014. Link to comment
abatt Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Tickets went on sale today for Whelan's Restless Creature program at the Joyce Theater in New York City. The engagement is during the first week of April 2014. Link to comment
abatt Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Sadly, Wendy Whelan will not be touring the US with Restless Creature this Spring due to continued injury. Happily, she expects to be well enought to appear with NYCB by the Spring Season. Looking forward to seeing her back on stage. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/recoveringfrom-surgery-whelan-postpones-national-dance-tour/?ref=arts Link to comment
ksk04 Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I see on the Carpenter Center for Performing Arts (in Long Beach, CA) website that Wendy Whelan will be performing Restless Creature during their 14/15 Season, in February 2015. I'm not sure if other tour dates have been scheduled, but it seems like the motions are in place to tour Restless Creature in 2015, and to tour it to places that were not originally announced. Link to comment
ABT Fan Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 At 9pm EST tonight (in 15 minutes) on the NYC Life channel (WNYE) is a program called "Wendy Whelan: Moments of Grace". It's about her life and career including behind the scenes footage. Link to comment
poppy seed Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I saw Wendy perform both After the Rain and another Christopher Wheeldon piece called This Bitter Earth last year. But, It wasn't the Restless Creature program, her contemporary pieces were sandwiched in by a few more classical ballets, all danced by N.Y.C.B. dancers. She was the obvious star of the night, and wore only soft ballet shoes with no tights. It was truly very beautiful she seemed completely at ease. Some time after the performance, I found a New Yorker article that talked about her turning down the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy multiple times because she thought she wasn't pretty enough. This sort of broke my heart at the time but I'm glad she discovered her style at the end of her career and got to share it with us. Link to comment
Lynette H Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Wendy Whelan appears with Ed Watson at the Linbury Theatre at the ROH this July in a programme of new work. Public booking opens 31 March I think, but there may not be many tickets available. Details here http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/whelanwatson-other-stories-by-various Link to comment
abatt Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Due to popular demand, the Joyce Theater has added one performance to Wendy's Restless Creature program. The added show is Saturday May 30 at 2 PM. Link to comment
Buddy Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 These two informal performances should speak for themselves. “This Bitter Earth” starts at 1:50. “After the Rain” starts at 14:10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D316-KMBU8 (posted by the NYCityCenter, the performance site) Link to comment
sandik Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 These two informal performances should speak for themselves. “This Bitter Earth” starts at 1:50. “After the Rain” starts at 14:10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D316-KMBU8 (posted by the NYCityCenter, the performance site) Oh thank you! Link to comment
Buddy Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Yes, these really are beautiful performances, sandik. I had tears in my eyes the first time that I watched them. Link to comment
sandik Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I've seen a number of dancers in the duet from After the Rain (my home company does it) but it's always special to something performed by the person it was made on. Link to comment
Buddy Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 From what I can tell, sandik, not only was After the Rain "made on" her, but she also did a lot of the 'making' as she probably did with the other works "made on" her by Christopher Wheeldon. For me, not only is it special to see "something performed by the person it was made on," but in Wendy Wheelan's case she's one of the very best in the world at this sort of thing. I once saw a brief video clip of a Kabuki actor and the soulful expression of his basic humanity was mind boggling. At times at the Mariinsky I've seen Alina Somova and Oksana Skorik perform with similar personal depth and beauty, but it's not exactly the heartfelt depth of Wendy Whelan, it's more transcendental. [spelling correction made] Link to comment
abatt Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Alert to anyone who bought tickets to Whelan/Watson "Other Stories" at NY City Center, scheduled for March 2016. I just got an email from City Center stating that the performances are cancelled to "accomodate the artists' schedules". Didn't they know their schedules before they signed the contracts?! If you bought by credit, you are automatically refunded on your card. However if, like me, you paid cash at the box office, you have to schlep back to the box office with the tickets to get your money back. Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) What sort of message is Whelan trying to convey with this post? I’ll admit I found the image shocking, though I don’t believe anyone, fat or skinny, deserves to be shamed for how they look. What is a young dancer to make of an image like this? Edited February 14, 2018 by fondoffouettes Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, JMcN said: That is horrible. There are more photos from the same series posted on her account, detailing every bone, tendon and vein. I know she had an unusual body type, but these photos seem to celebrate skinniness at any cost (at least that’s what an impressionable young dancer could make of them). Edited February 14, 2018 by fondoffouettes Link to comment
Balletwannabe Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I don't think she's trying to send a message. Other than she's happy with her body. Good for her. Link to comment
fondoffouettes Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 3 minutes ago, Balletwannabe said: I don't think she's trying to send a message. Other than she's happy with her body. Good for her. She’s sending a message whether she likes it or not. These are exactly the type of photos people with eating disorders use for “thinspiration.” Link to comment
Balletwannabe Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I don't think she should be ashamed of her body any more than an obese woman should be ashamed. She's insanely muscular. I think she's beautiful. Link to comment
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