NYCB Vol. 13 No. 47 & 48 - Nutcracker

Photo by David Michalek

Counting down 50 NYCB Nutcrackers this year with stories from NYCB dancers past and present! Today we hear from Wendy Whelan who danced with NYCB from 1984-2014 and is currently the associate artistic director of the company:

[Quoted from Dance Magazine July 2007, written by Cheryl Ossola and a 2019 NYC Facebook Post]

“The first ballet I ever saw was The Nutcracker; I was six years old. Of all the dances in the ballet, I loved the Arabian dance most of all. The choreography, the dancer, and the music all became branded into my imagination that day. I knew I wanted to be that kind of dancer – more earthy and sinuous – less ‘pink’.

“Twenty years later, as the youngest Principal of NYCB, Peter Martins cast me in the role of Arabian Coffee for the 1993 feature film version of Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. I was overjoyed by the invitation to dance my childhood dream role for the film. I wanted to do it my whole life, so it was a dream come true.

“The style is more what I’m comfortable with-flexed feet and hands, head down, and darker. I could always relate to that. It’s very physical and earthy and exotic.

(left) screenshot from the 1992 film by Ardolino

(right) Photo by Paul Kolnik

“I was learning it with ballet mistress Rosemary Dunleavy and I remember doing one of the steps with flexed feet differently, and she really liked it. As a young principal dancer, it was important to me that she said the way I did it was valid.

“I learned the dance only a week before filming and only ever performed it for the camera. Over the years, countless generations of fans have told me they grew up watching my performance in the film.

"I love that my initial love went full circle and beyond, to inspire new generations of ballet lovers.”

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[Quoted from “Two Iconic Roles by Some of Their Many Interpreters” by Madelyn Sutton, 2021]

“Dewdrop was always a favorite role of mine,” shares Wendy Whelan. “It was a role that just called out my name, and I felt comfortable in it right away. To me, the Dewdrop is effervescent, airborne and glamorous—a feminine force of nature. I have a million and one images in my mind to describe her. The Sugarplum feels more like a landscape, with shadows and sunlight—purity and suspense. The combination of qualities of these two characters is a metaphor of what we might all secretly strive to become.”

Footage courtesy of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at NYPL

Comment from Instagram @wendyw "I think this might be the first time I’ve ever see footage of myself in this role ✨🧚🏻‍♀️✨ I REALLY loved dancing this part 🫶🏼 Thanks Lauryn !"