By now, you know that I find the lineage of dance so important to study and honor. Dance is not a skill that can be learned by reading a manual, it is an art form based on interpersonal relationships. You cannot teach without getting to know your student/dancer, and you cannot learn without getting to know your teacher.
It makes me very happy to work under the same roof as Wendy Whelan, knowing how many ballets she holds inside her muscles and her memory. How many experiences she had in her 30 years dancing for NYCB that the next generation of dancers can continue to benefit from now that she is the Associate Artistic Director. (She was coached directly by Robbins in his ballets and originated a role in his final ballet.)
On Wendy in the Goldberg Variations, a New York Times review said: “Ms. Whelan brought a distinctively easy authority to her pas de deux, her feet never quite seeming to touch the floor.”— Jennifer Dunning, 2008.
Wendy Whelan and Albert Evans in Goldberg Variations. Paul Kolnik.
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