- Born:
- March 22, 1973, Yeovil, Somerset, England (age 53)
- Awards And Honors:
- Tony Awards
Christopher Wheeldon
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Who is Christopher Wheeldon?
Christopher Wheeldon, born in Yeovil, England, on March 22, 1973, is a British ballet soloist and choreographer. He is known for his classical and lyrical works with the New York City Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and the Royal Ballet, London.
Wheeldon began dancing at a young age and trained at the Royal Ballet School. At 17, he won the Prix de Lausanne competition. In 1991, he joined the Royal Ballet and later the New York City Ballet in 1993. He choreographed for the School of American Ballet and other ballet troupes, such as the San Francisco Ballet.
In 2007, Wheeldon founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. He became the artistic associate of the Royal Ballet and choreographed Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter’s Tale (2014). Wheeldon has also choreographed Broadway productions, winning Tony Awards for An American in Paris (2014) and MJ: The Musical (2022).
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Where was Christopher Wheeldon born and what did he become known for?
Christopher Wheeldon, a British-born ballet soloist and choreographer, was born in Yeovil, Somerset, England, on March 22, 1973. He is known for his work with the New York City Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and the Royal Ballet, London. In his choreography, Wheeldon favored the classical and lyrical over the contemporary. He has also choreographed several Broadway productions, and he earned Tony Awards for his work on An American in Paris (2014) and MJ: The Musical (2022), about the life of Michael Jackson. In 2016, Wheeldon was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
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What styles of dance does Christopher Wheeldon work with?
Christopher Wheeldon is a British-born ballet soloist and choreographer known for his work with the New York City Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and the Royal Ballet. In his choreography, Wheeldon preferred the classical and lyrical to the more contemporary.
Wheeldon has also choreographed several Broadway productions, and he earned Tony Awards for his work on An American in Paris (2014) and MJ: The Musical (2022), about the life of Michael Jackson. Wendy Whelan, an American ballet dancer, was celebrated for geometric clarity in works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She reinvented herself in pieces by contemporary choreographers, particularly as the muse of Christopher Wheeldon, in whose Polyphonia (2001) and After the Rain (2005) she gave riveting performances.
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What are some major ballet companies Christopher Wheeldon has worked with?
Christopher Wheeldon is a British-born ballet soloist and choreographer. He is known for his work with the New York City Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and the Royal Ballet, London.
Other ballet companies Wheeldon has worked with include:
* San Francisco Ballet
* Colorado Ballet
* Boston Ballet
* Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam
* Joffrey Ballet, ChicagoIn 2007, Wheeldon founded a dance company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, in collaboration with former New York City Ballet principal dancer Lourdes Lopez.
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What are some of Christopher Wheeldon's most famous works or ballets?
Christopher Wheeldon, a British choreographer, is known for his classical and lyrical style and his work with the New York City Ballet and the Royal Ballet, London.
Some of Wheeldon's famous works and ballets include:
- Slavonic Dances (1997)
- Scènes de ballet (1999)
- Within the Golden Hour (2008)
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011)
- Cinderella (2012)
- The Winter’s Tale (2014)
- The Nutcracker (2016)
He also choreographed Broadway productions, winning Tony Awards for An American in Paris (2014) and MJ: The Musical (2022).
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How has Christopher Wheeldon influenced modern ballet or dance?
Christopher Wheeldon, a British-born ballet soloist and choreographer, has significantly impacted modern ballet by creating pieces for the New York City Ballet, the Royal Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. Wheeldon's choreography is known for shunning trendiness, preferring classical and lyrical styles. His works include Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter’s Tale (2014) for the Royal Ballet and Cinderella (2012) for the San Francisco Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet. In 2007, Wheeldon founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. He has also choreographed Broadway productions, earning Tony Awards for An American in Paris (2014) and MJ: The Musical (2022).
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Christopher Wheeldon (born March 22, 1973, Yeovil, Somerset, England) is a British-born ballet soloist and choreographer, known for his work with New York City Ballet, its connected institution, the School of American Ballet, and the Royal Ballet, London. In his choreography, Wheeldon shunned trendiness and preferred the classical and lyrical to the more contemporary.
Wheeldon was first attracted to ballet when he saw the chicken dance in a production of La Fille mal gardée on television. He began taking classes, first in a local school and later at London’s Royal Ballet School. There he began creating dances and winning awards for them. At age 17 he won the Prix de Lausanne competition’s gold medal with a program that included one of his own pieces.
In 1991 Wheeldon entered the corps de ballet of the Royal Ballet, where he spent two years. While on a trip to New York City during a company break, he was persuaded to take a class with New York City Ballet (NYCB), and at the end of the class he was offered a job with that company. In 1993, after he finished his contract with the Royal Ballet, he entered the NYCB corps. He appeared in such ballets as Dances at a Gathering, The Four Temperaments, Chaconnne, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Nutcracker, The Concert, and The Goldberg Variations. He originated roles in a number of other works, among them West Side Story Suite, La Stravaganza, Brandenburg, Reliquary, and Episodes and Sarcasms. Along the way, he was promoted to soloist.
Wheeldon also choreographed for the School of American Ballet for such performances as Le Voyage (1994) and Danses bohémiennes (1996). In 1997 his first work for NYCB, Slavonic Dances, was presented to wide acclaim. Wheeldon also choreographed Scènes de ballet for the School of American Ballet; it premiered in 1999. Set to music by Igor Stravinsky, it featured more than 60 children in a classroom setting and for the most part was choreographed to give the illusion of dancers and their mirror images. One scene, however, depicted a rapturous fantasy pas de deux “imagined” by one of the children as she gazed into a mirror.
As his reputation grew, Wheeldon received invitations from other ballet troupes such as the San Francisco Ballet, for which he choreographed Within the Golden Hour (2008). He created pieces for the Colorado Ballet and Boston Ballet, and in late 1999 it was announced that Wheeldon had been appointed Boston Ballet’s principal guest choreographer. He also supplied some of the original choreography for the motion pictures Center Stage (2000), Ballets russes (2005), and The Sleeping Beauty (2008).
In 2007 Wheeldon founded a dance company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, in collaboration with former New York City Ballet principal dancer Lourdes Lopez. When Wheeldon left the organization in 2010, Lopez carried on and continued to direct the company then renamed simply Morphoses.
Shortly after, Wheeldon became the artistic associate of the Royal Ballet, where he created the three-act ballets Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter’s Tale (2014). He also staged productions for a number of major ballet companies, including Cinderella (2012) for both the San Francisco Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet, Amsterdam, and The Nutcracker (2016) for the Joffrey Ballet, Chicago. Wheeldon also choreographed several Broadway productions, and he earned Tony Awards for his work on An American in Paris (2014) and MJ: The Musical (2022), about the life of Michael Jackson.
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In 2016 Wheeldon was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).