Christopher Wheeldon

{{Infobox artist

| name = Christopher Wheeldon

| image = Christopher wheeldon 2022 1.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Wheeldon at 75th Tony Awards 2022

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1973|03|22}}

| birth_place = Yeovil, Somerset, England, U.K.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = ballet dancer, choreographer

| known_for = ballet

| training = Royal Ballet School

| notable_works =

| awards = Prix de Lausanne

| honorific_suffix = OBE

}}

Christopher Peter Wheeldon {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}} (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet.

Early life

Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of eight. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18. In 1991, Wheeldon joined the Royal Ballet, London; and in that same year, he won the gold medal at the Prix de Lausanne competition.

In 1993, at the age of 19, Wheeldon moved to New York City to join the New York City Ballet. He was named Soloist in 1998.[https://www.theguardian.com/uk_news/story/0,,1983273,00.html Brown, Mark. "Ballet world abuzz at British choreographer's huge gamble"], The Guardian, 5 January 2007.

Wheeldon began choreographing for the New York City Ballet in 1997, while continuing his career as a dancer. He retired as a dancer in 2000 in order to focus on his choreography.

Career

= 2000s =

In 2001, Wheeldon became the New York City Ballet resident choreographer and first resident artist. He was productive in this position, choreographing a number of much lauded works for the troupe, Polyphonia being the first. He quickly developed a reputation as a talented choreographer, and several other eminent ballet companies, such as the San Francisco Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and The Royal Ballet, London, have commissioned dances from him. As of May 2003, Wheeldon had composed at least 23 works.

In November 2006, Wheeldon announced the formation of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, a transatlantic company with a US base at New York City Center and in the UK at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London. In its first season, the company performed in Vail, London and New York.Playbill, New York City Ballet, January 2008. Wheeldon completed his tenure as Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet in February 2008. In 2009, the City Parks Foundation commissioned Wheeldon and contemporary singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright to create a new work. The piece, entitled "Tears of St. Lawrence", premiered at Central Park SummerStage on 14 and 15 August. The fifteen-minute ballet, choreographed by Wheeldon and Edwaard Liang, featured twelve dancers accompanied by live music and song by Wainwright, who sang while intermingling with the dancers. In February, 2010, resigned from Morphoses, which will continue to produce ballets without his name.Club Pointe, February, 2010

An Emmy award-winning fly-on-the-wall television documentary Strictly Bolshoi followed Wheeldon as he became the first Englishman to be invited to create a new work for the Bolshoi Ballet.

In the June/July 2009 issue of The Advocate, Wheeldon was featured on a list of artists who made the "Forty Under 40" list.{{Cite web |url=http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid82039.asp?page=6 |title=Issue Number 1027 | Forty Under 40: Arts | Advocate.com |access-date=7 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511161811/http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid82039.asp?page=6 |archive-date=11 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}

= 2010s =

Wheeldon was appointed Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet in 2012.[http://www.roh.org.uk/about/the-royal-ballet/christopher-wheeldon Christopher Wheeldon] Royal Opera House, accessed 19 December 2012

In 2011, Wheeldon premiered a full-length ballet Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. This was the first full-length ballet created at the Royal Ballet for over 20 years, and was jointly commissioned with the National Ballet of Canada. The ballet had its world premiere on 28 February 2011 (with Royal Ballet principal Lauren Cuthbertson in the lead role) and featured a brand new score by Joby Talbot.{{cite web|url=http://www.roh.org.uk/discover/artistdetail.aspx?id=444|title=Christopher Wheeldon – People – Royal Opera House|website=www.roh.org.uk|access-date=19 May 2018}}

In 2014, Wheeldon premiered another full-length ballet, The Winter's Tale for the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, again a co-commission with the National Ballet of Canada, based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. It, too, featured a score by Joby Talbot and has been given generally good reviews – "a ballet to keep" said The Daily Telegraph, and "a spectacular full-length narrative work that will stand the test of time" said the Toronto Star.

Wheeldon was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for "services to promoting the interests and reputation of British classical and theatrical dance worldwide".{{London Gazette|issue=61450 |supp=y|page=N26|date=30 December 2015}}

In December 2016, Wheeldon's Nutcracker was premiered by the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. Instead of the traditional upper-class party scene, Wheeldon opted for a "shack scene" which takes place in Chicago's south side. Marie is then introduced to the enchanted world of sweets and foreign places.

On 6 June 2019, Wheeldon's Cinderella in-the-round with English National Ballet was premiered at the Royal Albert Hall with over 90 dancers, and projections which created the fairytale setting.

= 2020s =

On February 1, 2022, MJ the Musical opened on Broadway. Wheeldon was nominated for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography at the Tony Awards, winning the latter.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/michael-jackson-broadway-musical-mj-december-performances-ephraim-sykes-1234753817/|title=Michael Jackson Musical 'MJ' Hits Broadway In December; Ephraim Sykes In Title Role|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Greg|last=Evans|date=June 13, 2021|access-date=June 13, 2022}}

In 2023, he was a jury member at Prix de Lausanne ballet competitions.

In 2024 Wheeldon created a new full-length ballet on commission for The Australian Ballet, Oscar, based on the life of Oscar Wilde.{{Cite news |last=Winship |first=Lyndsey |date=2024-09-11 |title=How far do you go in the depiction of gay lovemaking?: Christopher Wheeldon on his new Oscar Wilde ballet |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/sep/11/christopher-wheeldon-new-oscar-wilde-ballet |access-date=2024-09-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Personal life

Wheeldon married yoga instructor Ross Rayburn in 2013. The ceremony took place on Fire Island, NY and was captured in a Vimeo video by Daniel Robinson.{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/78814035|title=Wedding of Christopher Wheeldon & Ross Rayburn Recap|access-date=16 March 2015}}

Honors

Prix de Lausanne, Gold Medal (1991)
Mae L. Wien Award, School of American Ballet
Martin E. Segal Award, Lincoln Center, New York City
London Critics' Circle Award
American Choreography Award
Olivier Award : Best theatre choreographer 2025{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/apr/06/olivier-awards-2025-full-list-of-winners | title=Olivier awards 2025: Full list of winners | work=The Guardian | date=6 April 2025 | last1=Stage | first1=Guardian }}

Dance Magazine Award
Prix Benois de la Danse–2013, best choreography (Cinderella by Sergei Prokofiev, Dutch National Ballet){{cn|date=May 2023}}
Prix Benois de la Danse–2015, best choreography (The Winter's Tale by Joby Talbot, The Royal Ballet)
2015 Tony Award for best choreography 'An American in Paris'
Times Arts Award for Best Director of A Musical 'An American in Paris"
Outer Critics Circle Award Best Director of a musical 'An American in Paris' and choreography 'An American in Paris'
Broadwayworld.co.uk award for Best Director of a Musical for An American in Paris.
2022 Tony Award & 2025 Olivier Award for Best Choreography for 'MJ the Musical'

Footnotes

References

[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_5_77/ai_100047914 Carman, Joseph. The evolution of Christopher Wheeldon, Dance Magazine, May, 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040905165717/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1083/is_5_77/ai_100047914 |date=5 September 2004 }}
Carman, Joseph. "Christopher Wheeldon: Making the Most Out of Both Ballet Worlds," Dance Magazine, November 1996.
[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/christopher_wheeldon/index.html?inline=nyt-per Christopher Wheeldon, NY Times archive]

External links

[http://www.nycitycenter.org City Center website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120423184244/http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/dance/jacoby-pronk?ref=artist&refcar=%2Fartist%2Fw-z Archive film of Christopher Wheeldon's Rhapsody Fantaisie in 2010 at Jacob's Pillow]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080724075040/http://www.morphoses.org/ Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company website]
[http://www.sadlerswells.com Sadlers Wells website]

! colspan="3" | New York City Ballet

{{succession box

|title= Resident Choreographer

|years= 2001–2008

|before= Inaugural holder

|after= Justin Peck

}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Christopher Wheeldon

|list =

}}

Category:People educated at the Royal Ballet School