For Audiences

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Gallim HAPPY HOUR discussion series: Opening with Wendy Whelan

Gallim Happy Hour featuring Wendy Whelan Featured photo by Nisian Hughes

HAPPY HOUR
NEW Gallim discussion series

Opening with Wendy Whelan

Tuesday, September 25th | 5:30-7PM

 

Toast the end of the work day at Gallim! Catch up on the latest in the dance world with a glass of wine and your hosts, Artistic Director Andrea Miller and the Gallim dancers. This series of interviews will delve into the field, life as an artist, and the perspectives of today’s top influencers including Dance Theatre of Harlem's Virginia Johnson, Pamela Tatge of Jacob's Pillow, Jose Limon Dance Foundation's Juan Jose Escalante, Larry Keigwin of Keigwin + Company, and more!

Kick off Gallim's Happy Hour series with Wendy Whelan, who will take a seat with Miller and (fingers crossed) share juicy life stories. Come with questions and stay for wine!

 

No RSVP required. 
Tuesday, September 25th | 5:30-7pm | 520 Clinton Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238 | FREE

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About Wendy Whelan

former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet
"America's greatest contemporary ballerina" - The New York Times

Wendy Whelan, widely considered one of the world’s leading dancers, began dance lessons at the age of three in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of 15, she moved to New York to continue her studies full time at the School of American Ballet. In 1984, she became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, joined the corps de ballet a year later, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1991. 

She went on to spend 30 years at New York City Ballet, dancing virtually every major Balanchine role and working closely with Jerome Robbins on many of his ballets. She originated roles in over 50 new works, working with such luminary choreographers as William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Jorma Elo, Ulysses Dove, and Wayne McGregor. 

Her most notable choreographic collaboration was with Christopher Wheeldon. She created roles in 13 of his ballets - including PolyphoniaLiturgy, and After the Rain. In 2008, she was nominated for both an Olivier Award and a Critics Circle Award for her performances with his touring group, Morphoses - the Wheeldon Company. Whelan went on to be hailed by The New York Times as "America's greatest contemporary ballerina."

She has been a guest artist with The Royal Ballet and The Kirov Ballet, and has performed on every major ballet stage across the globe. She received the Dance Magazine Award in 2007, and in 2009, was given a Doctorate of Arts, honors cause, from Bellarmine University. In 2011, she received both The Jerome Robbins Award and a Bessie Award for her Sustained Achievement in Performance. In 2018, she was given The Capezio Award.

Since 2013, she has been developing her own independent collaborations. Her inaugural project, Restless Creature, brought together four dancers/choreographers - Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks and Alejandro Cerrudo, for an evening of new duets with her. It was co-produced by The Joyce Theater Productions and premiered at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. The show went on to tour across the U.S.

In 2015, she developed two more projects, Whelan/Watson Other Stories, which was co-produced by The Royal Opera House in London, and the chamber dance/opera Hagoromo, which was commissioned by BAM for the 2015 Next Wave Festival.

In 2016-17, she premiered and toured her fourth new program, Some of a Thousand Words, co-produced by The Joyce Theater Productions with Brian Brooks and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider.

A documentary film entitled Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan, was released in theaters across the country in 2017 and is now available on Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. The film recently won the Chita Rivera Award for Best Dance Documentary.

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