Acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon returns to Boston this spring to stage the Company premiere of his A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Meet the dynamic choreographer and get excited to see his work on stage. 

1. He's a natural-born choreographer. 
As a kid, Wheeldon spent his summers directing homegrown performances with neighborhood friends. He choreographed his first piece when he was just nine years old and continued to create new works throughout his formative years studying at London’s Royal Ballet School. 

2. It all comes back to Shakespeare. 
When Wheeldon was young, his mother took him to see his first ballet—a community center production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Fast forward fifteen years, and Shakespeare's comedy of errors would become the choreographer’s first full-evening work. The timeless tale of crisscrossed lovers marks a major milestone in Wheeldon’s career, and fittingly brings his love of ballet and the Bard full circle.  

3. He learned from legends. 
Wheeldon got his start dancing for the Royal Ballet under principal choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan, an internationally renowned artist known for his impeccable storytelling and numerous full-length works. MacMillan recognized Wheeldon’s choreographic talent and encouraged the young dancer to explore this passion, setting in motion the wheels of Wheeldon’s career. Later, at New York City Ballet, Wheeldon danced under ballet giant Jerome Robbins, whose heightened sense of character development informed Wheeldon’s approach to story ballets and eventually musical theater choreography.  

In 2001, Wheeldon transitioned from dancing to become the New York City Ballet resident choreographer and first resident artist. Five years later, at the encouragement of influential artist William Forsythe, he started his own company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. 

4. He takes artistic risks. 
When Wheeldon first decided to set movement to the complex, atonal piano compositions of György Ligeti, he was exhilarated and terrified by the project—but it ultimately led to his breakout work Polyphonia. Since then, the choreographer’s penchant for risk-taking has continued to propel his career forward, from founding his own company to becoming the first British choreographer to create a new work for the Bolshoi Ballet. 

5. His imaginative style has the dance world buzzing. 
Wheeldon uses classical dance vocabulary in bold new ways, earning him comparisons to ballet greats George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Sir Frederick Ashton. Critics praise his unparalleled musicality and attention to detail, regarding him as “one of the hottest classical choreographers of his generation” (The Guardian).