Ballet for the 21st Century: Wendy Whelan and the Choreography of Christopher Wheeldon

Admission is free.

Join us for a thrilling evening of dance and discussion as Wendy Whelan and Craig Hall of the New York City Ballet perform two masterworks of the 21st century, Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain and Liturgy. One of the leading choreographers of his generation, Wheeldon created these breathtakingly beautiful and innovative dances in collaboration with his muse, the incomparable Wendy Whelan, whom the New York Times calls “one of the great ballerinas of our time.” Following the performance, Whelan and her dance partner, Craig Hall, will talk about ballet and how these works evolved through collaboration. The works are already being performed by dance companies around the world, inviting audiences to experience a multifaceted art that Wheeldon calls “sculpture in motion.”

Wendy Whelan is a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet. She has danced featured roles in ballets such as George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, “Rubies” and “Diamonds” from Jewels, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozartiana, Orpheus, Swan Lake, Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Symphony in C; Jerome Robbins’s Dances at a Gathering, Glass Pieces and In G Major; Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp’s Brahms/Handel; Peter Martins’s Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake; and William Forsythe’s Behind the China Dogs. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for her fall 2007 performances with Morphoses at Sadler’s Wells, and she has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

Craig Hall is a soloist with the New York City Ballet. He has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, The Four Temperaments, The Nutcracker, Serenade and La Sonnambula; Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun, The Cage and Fanfare; Peter Martins’s Romeo + Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake; Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain; and Angelin Preljocaj’s La Stravaganza. Hall has won several awards, including a National Foundation for the Advancement in Arts scholarship.

Organized by William Handley (English).

For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.edu

Location: George Finley Bovard Administration Building (ADM) -

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Daria Yudacufski