© Holger Badekow Ballet.co Christopher Wheeldon interview Choreography of Christopher Wheeldon a talk given by Giannandrea Poesio SFB's Wheeldon Bill reviews Edinburgh International Festival, 2003 Carnival of the Animals reviews Tryst reviews Continuum reviews Giannandrea Poesio Weblog on Ballet.co Suzanne McCarthy reviews

Asked about the differences in attitude towards dance in the UK and the USA, Wheeldon acknowledged that he had not spent very much time in the UK over the last 10 years, and that he did not know the UK dance scene that well. In the USA dance was "abundant", with most major cities having their own ballet company. The advantage of living in New York City was that he was able to see a great variety of dance. He had noticed on returning to London that dance was also becoming more prevalent as an art form in the UK.

Brennan referred to the concern of artistic directors that there is a severe shortage of good new ballet repetitore pieces. Wheeldon noted that not many younger choreographers seemed interested in using the classical vocabularly. Also they appeared to be "afraid of the pointe shoe" or did not especially want to choreograph for it. Wheeldon, on the other hand, is fascinated by the pointe shoe - its demands on the dancer's centre of gravity and what happens when subtle shifts in weight are made on the foot or when the shoe is asked to relate differently to the floor.

Wheeldon has already created over 20 ballets. When asked how he came to choose projects he replied that his overriding criterion was whether it would give him an opportunity to try something new. In this context he specifically mentioned working with George Piper Dances. Some, he said, could not understand why, when he had the choice of working with the best and largest ballet companies in the world, that he would chose to spend his creative energy on this group of merely four dancers. But Wheeldon is excited about the Ballet Boys' efforts to create a new ballet company in these difficult commercial times and in their desire to return to the ethos of the early touring companies. To Wheeldon being able to dance is a gift and not just a way of paying the mortgage. He is enthused by dancers, like those of the San Francisco Ballet, who feel similarly.

Brennan, having seen Wheeldon dance at an educational workshop earlier in the day, asked why he had given up dancing so young to focus exclusively on choreography. Wheeldon in reply explained that, the rigorous schedule the New York City Ballet sets itself meant that he had very little time to choreograph while he was also dancing with them. He also had come to a point in his career when he felt that he could not push himself further as a dancer. He admitted that there were moments when he felt the pull of the stage, but he did not regret his decision.

Brennan queried the fast pace at which he was producing ballets. Wheeldon said that he did not make extensive long term plans. He thought, as with other artists, that he would experience periods of lull, but at the moment the ballets were just "spewing out" of him. He is interested in seeing how well each piece translated to being performed by dancers other than the original cast. He finds it difficult to remember steps once he has created them, and depends on those with whom he works to maintain his work. Although he accepts the advantage of video, he feels that the translation to film and then back again to the dancer can often lead to a loss of some of the movement and to the overall feel of a piece.

Considering his emphasis on creating plotless ballets, Brennan asked about his plans to produce narrative work. Wheeldon in reply referred to his forthcoming production of Swan Lake for the Pennslyvania Ballet Company. Swan Lake is Wheeldon's favourite classical ballet (in contrast with The Nutcracker), and his intention is not to ignore the traditions in which the work is seeped, but to try to present the piece in a different way. This production will be the biggest this particular company has ever done. Wheeldon laughed when noting that its premiere will coincide with the meeting of the National Critics' Conference.

Brennan asked him about the San Francisco Ballet's programme for this year's Festival. Wheeldon said that he set himself a task with each of his ballets. There Where She Loved, the programme's first piece, is a contrast between the sentiments and music of Chopin and Kurt Weill, and it was the challenge of bringing these different expressions of love together that intrigued him. Similarly, Ligeti's music was a surprisingly choice against which to choreograph. Wheeldon had first been introduced to his music while studying piano as a student at the Royal Ballet School. He had not liked it very much, but after creating a piece for Boston Ballet to Vivaldi's ubiquitous Four Seasons, he felt that it was time to push himself in new musical directions. Purchasing a recording of Ligeti music was the inspiration for the programme's second work, Continuum. Wheeldon likes normally to start making steps with the dancers once he has strongly familiarise himself with the music. However, this was not the case with Continuum, where he choreographed "very spontaneously". Within that work, as with Tryst, his composition for the Royal Ballet, there is a strong, central pas-de-deux, which Wheeldon uses to produce an emotional atmosphere between two bodies. Ligeti's music, he feels, helps in creating this drama, or as he described it, "a shimmer in the air".

Wheeldon went on to describe the period in which Continuum was produced. Only weeks after the September 11th, the company members were, like other Americans, traumatised. While Wheeldon was not in this work attempting to expressed that event and its aftermath, it is not surprising that, even if only subliminally, it influenced the final result. For example, in the pas-de-deux there is a moment when the two dancers' arms are touching with their hands making a bowl shape, and this was built on the image of holding a perfect world. At another time the dancers are on the ground, and while working out the movements in this section they imagined being afraid that something was going to fall on them.

Wheeldon admits, that movements in his pieces are often, however, very much serendipitously inspired. The relationship between Wheeldon's two cats and dog can register with him, as can ordinary movements he might see on the way to work. Sometimes he walks into the studio without any idea of what he is going to do. He does not see creating steps as some mystical experience. In fact, he confessed that he often does his best work when he is most tired or unprepared! However, even if the steps are unplanned, he makes a point of knowing the music very well, making almost a chart to illustrate its structure. When compared to working like a jazz musician, Wheeldon said he saw himself more as an "architect without a blueprint".

Christopher Wheeldon
Photograph by Holger Badekow ©

Rush, the last piece in the Festival programme, was designed for its world premiere to be given at the Edinburgh Playhouse (it will have its premiere in California in February 2004, and Wheeldon is interested in seeing how well it will work there). Unusually on this occasion the designs preceded the completion of the choreography, not something that Wheeldon likes. But, he feels that it worked because Jon Morrell, with whom he had collaborated previously, is so good. While Wheeldon is aware of the criticisms made against the Playhouse as a dance venue, he thought it was a good theatre for the demands of this particular piece because it allows intimacy to build between the dancers while at the same time the work is being performed before a large audience. He thought that the ballet was best viewed sitting in the circle, rather than the stalls. That is where he sits when watching his work, often bobbing and weaving in time with the dancers on stage (to the annoyance, he says, to those seated behind him - there have been letters of complaint to theatre managers!).

When asked by a member of the audience whether he had a particular style and, if so, what it was, he replied that it was probably too early to identify a specific "Wheeldon style", and that he was still working out what he wanted to say as a choreographer. He described himself as "a work in progress". From the applause at the end of this event, it was obvious that the wish is for the "work" to continue.