Famed dancer faces loss of her identity
The finest dancers perform in the moment, losing themselves in music and movement. Time seems to disappear, and the falling curtain comes as a surprise.
Since the start of her career with New York City Ballet, in 1986, Wendy Whelan was one of those dancers. Her commanding Balanchine technique, musicality and emotional openness onstage made her a principal within five years and later a muse for choreographers like Christopher Wheeldon and Alexei Ratmansky.
In the compelling and beautifully crafted documentary “Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan,” she admits to being so immersed in the immediacy of her art that 30 years later, the pointers toward retirement blindsided her. “As a young kid, you have so much hope,” she says, fighting back anguished tears. “Then you’re 46 years old and you’re still dreaming.”
Directors Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger began filming at that crucial moment when an awareness of physical decline was dawning on her. Her right hip needed surgery, and Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins was casting her in fewer roles. The woman who once said “If I don’t dance, I’d rather die” had to face her biggest fear.
The down-to-earth Whelan granted the filmmakers total access to her world — home, rehearsal studios, backstage, cast parties and even the operating room. She is forthcoming, frank and sometimes salty in sharing her physical pain, grit and humility, and sorrow leavened by quick humor.
As Whelan slowly comes to terms with the loss of her identity, she begins to forge a new one as a contemporary dancer, going on to produce her own performances on a national tour titled “Restless Creature.” Her poignant example of grieving, letting go and moving forward with joy is a reminder that the most difficult transitions can burnish and better us, if we let them.