Wheeldon, Ratmansky and Whelan Team Up
On October 18, Wendy Whelan will give her last performance as a New York City Ballet principal. The occasion alone is enough to make this night easily top my list of must-see performances this fall. But it gets even better: It’s been announced that Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon are co-choreographing a piece for the occasion. According to a press release from NYCB
, the piece will feature Whelan, along with Tyler Angle and Craig Hall.
How did she score such a rare choreographic collaboration? According to a New York Times article, she asked for it, and both Ratmansky and Wheeldon, who have created work on her at NYCB, agreed.
The score, which will consist of selections from Max Richter’s Recomposed: Vivaldi—The Four Seasons, also has personal significance for Whelan, who says she listened to the music daily while recovering from her hip surgery last year. She chose one movement from each season; Ratmansky and Wheeldon will each choreograph two.
Though the change of seasons nods to the end of one chapter in Whelan’s life, her dance career is far from over (her Restless Creature tour continues on to 17 U.S. cities in 2015). She told the NYT, “I like the idea of making a debut on my farewell.”
