Check Out the New Wendy Whelan Movie
The film world is teeming with fantastic dancer documentaries right now. Of course, there was Misty Copeland’s much talked-about film, A Ballerina’s Tale, released last year. Sergei Polunin’s Dancer just came out last month. A fascinating biopic of Ohad Naharin, appropriately titled Mr. Gaga, should be on every dancer’s must-see list this February.
Whelan in Restless Creature
The latest dancer documentary is Restless Creature, about Wendy Whelan. Filmmakers Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger followed Whelan during one of the most emotional moments in her career: When she was preparing to leave New York City Ballet after 30 years with the company and launch her own project, Restless Creature.
According to a review in The Hollywood Reporter, the film takes viewers inside rehearsals for By 2 With & From, Whelan’s farewell ballet created for her by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon. It also follows her throughout recovery from hip surgery, with candid interviews and footage of Whelan’s final curtain call. And, fortunately, there’s also apparently some great dance footage of child and teenage Wendy.
The New York Film Festival is currently showing the 90-minute film this week. Stay tuned for details about future showings and releases—we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
So who should be next to get their own documentary? Here at Dance Magazine, we’ve got several names on our wish list for future full-length features. In the meantime, check out our own series of shorts, “Behind the Curtain.” Each episode follows one of our favorite artists around for one day in their life. It’s just the kind of intimate access to the stars we know you all crave.
