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Christopher Wheeldon, 32

Resident choreographer

New York City Ballet

Christopher Wheeldon says he inherited his talent for kinetic design from his father, a mechanical engineer. But the younger Mr. Wheeldon designs ballets. At 32, the former dancer has built an international reputation as a pre-eminent choreographer.

Modest and straightforward, Mr. Wheeldon says that plotting 18 minutes of intricate moves for 10 dancers--as he is doing for a work premiering this month at Lincoln Center--is "a bit of an engineering feat.

In mastering his craft, Mr. Wheeldon has been credited with making classical ballet technique newly exciting. "He makes ballet contemporary, narrative, entertaining and romantic," says Dance Magazine editor Wendy Perrin.

Commissioned to choreograph a new Swan Lake for the Pennsylvania Ballet, he set it in a dance studio evoking one of Degas' ballerina paintings. "I like to push myself down different alleyways," he says.

Mr. Wheeldon's mother, once an aspiring dancer, encouraged him to pursue the art. He spent much of his childhood studying with London's Royal Ballet. From there, the road to stardom was paved with sugarplums.

"I've danced a thousand Nutcrackers," he says wryly.

He talked his way into classes at the New York City Ballet in 1992, going on to become a premier dancer and, later, a choreographer. After he sealed his reputation with Scenes de Ballet, a witty take on classroom dance, the company created the resident choreographer position, which he's held since 1999.

"I never thought I'd be so successful at a young age," Mr. Wheeldon says. "My goal now is to remain prolific."

- Gale Scott

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