Dame Darcey Bussell talks to Natalie Steed to introduce an interview with the dancer and choregrapher, Christopher Wheeldon.

Christopher Wheeldon talks in 2003 with his former classmate and Royal Ballet First Soloist Jane Burn. Christopher speaks about his early years in dance with candour and charm, mentioning Anatole Grigoriev, his teacher at White Lodge, and his early forays into choreography with the inspirational Norman Morrice.

Christopher Wheeldon was born in 1973 in Yeovil, Somerset. He started training as a dancer from the age of 8. From 1984-1991 he attended the Royal Ballet School, winning the gold medal at the Prix de Lausanne in 1991. That same year he joined the Royal Ballet. In 1993 he joined the New York City Ballet, becoming a soloist in 1998.

He began choreographing for the New York City Ballet in 1997, retiring from dancing in 2000 to concentrate on choreography. In 2001, Wheeldon became the New York City Ballet’s first resident choreographer and first resident artist. From 2006-10 he also ran his own company, the Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.

Aside from his work in New York and also in London, Wheeldon has established himself as a choreographer worldwide, including works for the San Francisco Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. In 2011 he choreographed Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Royal Ballet’s first full-length commission for 20 years, followed in 2014 by The Winter’s Tale. Other commissions include Strapless (2016) and Like Water for Chocolate (2022).  In 2014 he directed and choreographed a musical version of An American in Paris, first performed in Paris, then in New York and London.

He was awarded an OBE in 2016 for services to dance. 

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