I heard this on the radio today. The whole thing is worth hearing: "From Injury To Recovery, A Ballerina Fought To Retire On Her Own Terms" (The URL for the interview has links to the podcast and a beautiful video snippet of Wendy Whelan rehearsing) http://www.npr.org/2017/07/10/536434340/from-injury-to-recovery-a-ballerina-fought-to-retire-on-her-own-terms
Here's the origami excerpt from the transcript of the interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=536434340 ....WHELAN: Yeah. That ballet you're talking of is called "Polyphonia." And it was made on Jock Soto and myself and three other couples from the New York City Ballet around the year 2001 by a young choreographer at the time named Christopher Wheeldon. He chose Jock and I to sort of be the central figures of this ballet I guess. We have two duets - two very potent duets in this piece, and he chose us to sort of collaborate on it with him. And we made that duet in one day. It was like magic happened. We just - the three of us got together. We got this music. We had ideas. Chris' ideas lead to sort of a conversation back to him, and he decided yes or no. And it just unfolded like origami. And basically the duet is like origami. It's folds and openings and taking one movement and flipping it into another shape, into another shape, into a kaleidoscopic unfolding of movements. And that's the very last moment of the piece. And I always felt like I was a switchblade in that moment. GROSS: Could you describe, to the extent that you could describe this kind of thing, what you're doing physically at that moment? WHELAN: Well, Jock - my partner Jock Soto - he's one of the greatest partners in ballet of all time. And he was like a magician. And luckily for me, I got to partner with him for about 15 years. And he's holding me in a certain way. And he lifts me up like a jackknife from under my hips, under my bottom, sort of taking my hips high up into the air. And my legs are in a jackknife position. And he drops me back down, and he kneels at the same time. And one leg stays attached to his leg, and the other leg does a whole - a 360 around that leg, that thigh that I'm laying on. And I'm just - I'm holding onto my my foot. And I'm just sort of doing a back dive, holding onto my front foot, backbending with his support, rotating, cartwheeling backwards, catching myself on the floor with my hands, letting my legs follow me and sliding under his leg and to a kneel. And he kneels behind me, and we both look at the audience. And the lights fade, and it's just really, like, cool (laughter). GROSS: And how does it physically feel? Does it feel like, wow, this is hard; I'm really exerting myself? WHELAN: No. GROSS: Or does it feel... WHELAN: No. GROSS: ...As fluid as it looks? WHELAN: It feels heavenly. It feels like magic. It feels like it - like there's no other place I'd rather be than making that movement right there then, yeah..... Karen Reeds karenmre...@gmail.com Karen Reeds, co-ringleader, Princeton Public Library Origami Group Affiliate of Origami USA, http://origamiusa.org/ Princeton Public Library info: 609.924.9529 https://princetonlibrary.org/ Next meeting: Wednesday, July 12, 6:30-8pm, all welcome
