Christopher Wheeldon on 60 Minutes

March 31, 2016


Christopher Wheeldon rehearsing Leanne Cope in An American in Paris. Photo by Matt Trent via the Wall Street Journal.

If you had plans for Sunday night, you may want to cancel. This week on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” host Lesley Stahl will interview Christopher Wheeldon. This master choreographer’s career—which has given us stunning story ballets and hauntingly beautiful pas de deux—provides a lot of material for 60 minutes worth of intimate conversation. But one hot topic Stahl focuses on is how Wheeldon has made ballet mainstream with Broadway show An American in Paris, which he directed and choreographed (and won a Tony Award for).

The interview promises some personal moments: “I certainly felt like a door was flung open,” Wheeldon says of American in Paris.  “It is possible for ballet to be young, sexy, dynamic, exciting… to tell complex stories, not just stories about sleeping princesses but to take audiences on breathtaking journeys.” And the preview claims that Wheeldon is transforming ballet into something that’s “fun to watch.” Of course, we’d argue that it was already, but we won’t miss a chance get inside Wheeldon’s head.

Tune in to CBS on Sunday, April 3 at 7pm ET/PT.

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The Royal Ballet in Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale. Photo by Tristram Kenton via the Guardian.