“I’ve always been extremely devoted to what I do,” says Wendy Whelan in a newly released trailer for an upcoming documentary centered on the acclaimed ballerina. Whelan joined the New York City Ballet when she was just 17 years old and danced with the company for a record-setting 30 years. Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger’s “Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan” sees the performer battling an injury and dealing with the emotional toll of her impeding retirement. “It’s pretty hard to think that you’re not going to put pointe shoes on some day,” Whelan admits in the trailer.
“What we see, as we journey with [Whelan], is a woman of tremendous strength, resilience, and good humor,” the doc’s official synopsis reads. “We watch [her] brave the surgery that she hopes will enable her comeback to NYCB and we watch her begin to explore the world of contemporary dance, as she steps outside the traditionally patriarchal world of ballet to create ‘Restless Creature,’ a collection of four contemporary vignettes forged in collaboration with four young choreographers.”
The film premiered at the 2016 New York Film Festival to rave reviews.
In an interview with Women and Hollywood, Saffire and Schlesinger emphasized the universality of Whelan’s experience: “We all age one way or another,” the directors and producers observed. “For some, turning 47 means coming to the most rewarding time in a career where experience and wisdom overshadows age. For Wendy, turning 47 was beyond being aged out of normal ballet world, so she had to overcome enormous obstacles to not only continue as a dancer but to reinvent herself as an independent artist. That is incredibly inspirational.”
Saffire and Schlesinger previously collaborated on “Sporting Dreams,” a 2015 doc exploring the sacrifices involved in pursuing athletic dreams.
“Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan” opens May 24 in NY and June 9 in LA.
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