CriticalDance Forum

<P>The Boston Herald tell us that, 'Christopher Wheeldon, whose production of ``Firebird'' premiered here in October and who was hired by Boston Ballet Artistic Director Anna-Marie Holmes as principal guest choreographer for the next three seasons, has been selected as the first choreographer in the New York City Ballet's Artist in Residence program.'<P>I've only seen a couple of Wheeldon's pieces, one for the Royal Ballet and perhaps another for the NYCB dancers when they were in London. I have to say that my impression was more 'nice' than 'absolutely wonderful'. <P>Have others enjoyed the work of my fellow-countryman more than me?<P><BR> <A HREF="http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/arts_culture/hot304282000.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/arts_culture/hot304282000.htm</A>

Well, I really enjoyed his works for SAB and the one he did for SFB's Discovery program. I thought his choreography to be mature, structured and very well thought out. In the piece for SFB, he very effectively evoked nostalgia in me.

Grace,<P>NEVER underestimate the importance of good lighting!

<P>Robbins' 'West Side Story Suite'<P>A 'Dance-Insider' review of the NYCB programme including the new Wheeldon ballet "Mercurial Manoeuvres" as well as the Robbins seen above. Susan Yung has some harsh words for the unenthusiastic audience. <P> <A HREF="http://www.danceinsider.com/f51_1.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.danceinsider.com/f51_1.html</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited May 01, 2000).]

Clive Barnes in the NY Post is very impressed by the new Wheeldon piece and makes comparison with Balanchine, Ashton and Robbins. Praise indeed. <P>In case you are wondering, we don't have the daily NY Times reviews as they only last a day and then cost $2.50 a shot in their Archive location. <P><BR> <A HREF="http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/3131.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/3131.htm</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited May 02, 2000).]

Wheeldon also did some of choreography in the movie "Center Stage." I liked his much, much more than Susan Stroman's.

From the Globe & Mail, 02/15/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>A talent for the classics</B><BR>Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is only 27, but his fresh take on ballet tradition has already made him a star<P>A rising star in the ballet world, Wheeldon's combination of a reverence for the classics with a freshness of approach and a remarkable facility has artistic directors clamouring for his services. At 27, his fast-track career has already seen him create numerous works for Britain's Royal Ballet and the New York City Ballet as well as leading companies across North America. This month, he makes his Canadian debut with Alberta Ballet, which is presenting his full-evening version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Edmonton (starting tomorrow) and Calgary (next week).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>To read more...<BR>Netscape Users: Use this link <A HREF="http://www.globeandmail.com" TARGET=_blank><B>The Globe & Mail</B></A>, search "Christopher Wheeldon" <BR>IE Users: Use this <a href="http://archives.theglobeandmail.com/s97is.vts?action=View&VdkVgwKey=%2Fhome6%2Fusr%2Flocal%2Fgam%2Fsearch%2Fhtml%2F20010215%2FRVWHEEN%2Ehtml&DocOffset=1&DocsFound=1&QueryZip= Christopher+Wheeldon+&Collection=TGAM&SortField=sortdate&ViewTemplate=GAMDocView%2Ehts&SearchUrl=http%3A%2F%2Farchives%2Etheglobeandmail%2Ecom%2Fs97is%2Evts%3FQueryZip%3DChristophe r%2BWheeldon%2B%26ResultTemplate%3DGAMResults%252Ehts%26QueryText%3DChristopher%2BWheeldon%2B%26Collection%3DTGAM%26SortField%3Dsortdate%26ViewTemplate%3DGAMDocView%252Ehts%26Resul tStart%3D1%26ResultCount%3D10&" target="blank"><B>direct link</B></a>

From the New York Times:<P><B>Christopher Wheeldon, City Ballet's Meteor, Lights Up the Mirror</B><P>By PETER MARKS<BR> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In a rehearsal studio eight stories above Lincoln Center the choreographer Christopher Wheeldon was, as usual, thinking on his feet.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/10/arts/10WHEE.html" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><BR>

A profile from the Chronicle. SFB will be premiereing a new ballet by him soon.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>PROFILE <BR>Christopher Wheeldon <BR>Ballet's man on the move<P>Octavio Roca, Chronicle Dance Critic<P>The Englishman who is New York City Ballet's resident choreographer has been moonlighting on Broadway just before coming to San Francisco. He is in town to create "Continuum" for a world premiere Thursday night at the War Memorial Opera House. His biography suggests a long and illustrious career, but Wheeldon in fact just turned 29.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/02/DD5281.DTL&type=performance" TARGET=_blank><B>more...</B></A>

<B>out</B><BR>By GEORGETTE GOUVEIA in THE JOURNAL NEWS <P><BR>The story of how Christopher Wheeldon came to the New York City Ballet — already legendary in the dance world — offers an irresistible variation on the plot of "42nd Street." <P>As in that Broadway musical, there's an injury that provides a newcomer with an incredible opportunity. Only in Wheeldon's case, the injury and the opportunity were both his own. In 1991, he was a promising dancer with the Royal Ballet, about to enter a prestigious competition when an ankle injury sidelined him. <P>At a friend's suggestion, he used the respite to visit New York, where he asked the City Ballet if he could take a company class. That led to a 1993 invitation from ballet master in chief Peter Martins to dance with the company full-time, which in turn led Wheeldon to become its resident choreographer last year. <P><A HREF="http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/061102/11wheeldon.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<B>Master with the world at his feet</B>
By Jane Albert
August 23, 2002
The Australian

IF Christopher Wheeldon had any doubts about his talents, they should have been dispelled by an encounter with one of Britain's greatest choreographers, Kenneth MacMillan.

About three weeks before his death in 1992, the former director and principal choreographer of the Royal Ballet cast an eye over the Royal's performance of Wheeldon's Celestial Spaces and declared the young choreographer had what it takes.

"He said: 'You have to take all the opportunities you can and just practise, and you'll get better because you've got talent'," Wheeldon says from Melbourne. "It was an enormous compliment. I think it was the point where I thought, 'Maybe I can do this on a higher level.'"

<A HREF="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4951330%255E16953,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More...</B></A>

It's very sad to see that a choreographer such as Wheldon, can make so much money in the ballet worl. What's new in his work? It's clear that politicly it was good for a director-choreographer like Peter Martins to push Wheldon to choregrapnhe. It's clear that martins will not be over shadow by such little talent. And why those people enjoy a pale copy of Mister B. work?
Maybe it's made for some people whom come to see the ballet like there going to a "pinky world"!

Welcome to the board, Arthur.

It would be interesting if you could more clearly articulate your opinion of Wheeldon. Certainly, many people think he has a lot of talent.

As for choreographic style: NYCB's audience was acclimated to Balanchine over many years. It's no surprise that new choreography in the same general style would be more easily accepted than new choreography in a new style.

Welcome to the board from me, too, Arthur.

Replying to the above quote from Arthur's post I would say that whether people enjoy a choreographic work, whether they consider it worthy - is subjective.

That is also true of someone who considers it a 'pale copy' - it's a subjective opinion. Valid, but a product of individual subjectivity.

History is rife with works of art that didn't find an audience within the lifetime of its creator. As it is also rife with those works of art that were acclaimed at first but failed to meet the test of time.

Christopher Wheeldon is nominated as best new choreograph at Nijinsky awards who must be gift on december 14th.

It's to the audience to choose his graduates

He must choose between
Nicolas Le Riche, Carlos Acosta, Julio Bocca, Dominique Mercy (Wupperthal Theater) and Vladimir Malakhov as best male dancer
Aurélie Dupont, Tamara Rojo, Alina Cojocaru, Lucia Lacarra, Nina Ananiashivili and Diana Vishneva as best female dancer

Les Nijinsky Awards 2002, More

To vote, click here