Wheeldon, Christopher, 1973–, British ballet dancer and choreographer, studied Royal Ballet School, London. An outstanding contemporary classicist, Wheeldon creates dances that are lyrical, witty, sensual, and innovative. He joined the Royal Ballet in 1999; moving to the New York City Ballet in 1993, he began in the corps, then became a soloist in 1999 and served (2001–8) as the company's principal choreographer. Among his best-known works are Slavonic Dances (1997), Scènes de Ballet (1999), Polyphonia (2001), and After the Rain (2005). In 2007 he founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, for which he created Commedia (2008) and other works. Leaving the company in 2010, he turned to the Broadway musical, choreographing (2015) a stage version of the Gene Kelly film An American in Paris. Wheeldon continues to choreograph for American and European companies, including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter's Tale (2014) for the Royal Ballet and The Nutcracker (2016) for the Joffrey Ballet.
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