Oberon's Grove: Pointe & Pirouettes @ MMAC: Wendy Whelan

Monday February 21, 2011 - New York City Ballet's principal ballerina Wendy Whelan gave an afternoon class at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center as part of their day-long Pointe and Pirouettes event. I asked Matt Murphy, dance photographer de luxe, to meet me there and he was happy to since he is as big a fan of Ms. Whelan as I am.

Wendy's classroom was filled to capacity with dancers from many levels. Rather than 'talking down' to some of the youngest dancers, Wendy set the pace and complexity of the exercises and combinations quite high, giving the girls a taste of what they'll need to be prepared to do as they dance into the future. Wendy gave gentle and helpful corrections, mixed in with more specific remarks about body placement and keys to projecting the movement into the performing space.

One thing she spoke of which I think is sometimes not given enough attention in class is using the eyes while you are dancing. Not only must you watch where you are going, but you need to look to your hand in an extended port de bras or to your foot in develope to say to the audience: "Look how beautiful this movement is!" Sure enough, I've seen her do this so many times when watching her from my high/side perch at NYC Ballet performances: she'll look right up along her arm and hand and right into my eyes. This kind of contact draws the viewer into the dance and makes it personal. How wonderful to find among the photos Matt sent me this very image, above. (Of course all the professional ballerinas know this 'eye-language', but there's something extra captivating about peering thru your opera glasses into Wendy's gaze.)

I loved her barre excercise based on envelope, a move I hardly ever think about - and how beautifully she executes it. This in fact was one thing about the class that I found most intriguing: how difficult it is to look at anyone else when Wendy Whelan is in the room. But despite the allure of watching her demonstrate, she deflects attention to the students; she treats them all as colleagues and fellow travelers on the path that turns work into art.

Despite the studio being filled to bursting, I couldn't help but wish that even more students could have had the benefit of taking Wendy's class.

There were a few dancers in the room that I recognized from other visits to MMAC...

...including the young ballerina Amy Gilson (above) who caught my eye and Matthew's lens.

One of the most distinctive and delightful people in the New York City dance world, Deborah Wingert - an outstanding teacher and priestess of Terpsichore in her own right - took Wendy's class. Kokyat and I are especially enamoured of Ms. Wingert and her lovely spirit.

As the class flew by, I felt an urge to clamber up onto the piano and set the clock back by a half-hour or so just to keep Wendy and the dancers there a bit longer.

I've saved the best for last. I am not sure how Matthew managed in this crowded and bustling studio setting to capture this portrait of Wendy but I am so glad that he did, and I'll let him keep the secret of this capture all to himself. It's one of my favorite images ever of this fascinating dancer.

My thanks to Wendy, Francois Perron, Matt Murphy, MMAC's Erin Fogarty and the publicist Michelle Brandon Tabnick - and all the dancers - for a beautiful late-Winter day full of dance.

All photos by Matthew Murphy.

Comments

Amazing photos! Thank you for posting. Wendy seems like such an amazing person both on stage and off. And I am a big fan of Ms. Wingert as well. I watched her coach at the NY International Ballet Competition a few years back and she truly has a special gift! I would have liked to have taken class from both of them back when I was a student.

Posted by: Laura | February 22, 2011 at 08:12 PM