A Tale Reimagined: Wheeldon's 'Winter's Tale' Makes its North American Debut with ABT

Director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's emotionally rich Shakespeare adaptation finds new life at Segerstrom Center.

Hee Seo plays Hermione and Isaac Hernandez plays Leontes during the matinee performance on April 5 in the American Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Winter’s Tale.” Photo courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts/Quinn Wharton

A decade after its premiere with The Royal Ballet in London, Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Winter’s Tale” comes to the U.S. for the first time. The full-length narrative ballet, based on William Shakespeare’s late-career play, will make its North American debut at Segerstrom Center for the Arts with American Ballet Theatre, a company Wheeldon said is more than ready to take on the work’s dramatic and emotional complexity.

"In a way, it feels absolutely right that we are doing 'Winter’s Tale,’” said Wheeldon, an acclaimed English choreographer and director who currently serves as artistic associate of The Royal Ballet. "Now I know the sort of wealth of dramatic talent that there is in the company. I can feel very confident about preparing a lot of really good casts for these dramatic roles."

"ABT are wonderful storytellers,” Wheeldon continued. “It's exciting to dive into the characterizations and to both allow them the freedom to discover new dramatic moments for themselves and at the same time guide them to remain within the stylized structure of the existing choreography.

"They are distinct individual artists with their own good ideas but they don't always align with my ideas or those of Shakespeare. This always makes for an interesting dialogue. They learn, I learn. The piece takes on a new life."

Photos of The Royal Ballet’s production of “The Winter’s Tale,” which premiered in London in 2014.

Photos courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts

A Ballet Built on Duality

The ballet, created in 2014 with composer Joby Talbot and designer Bob Crowley, translates Shakespeare’s sprawling five-act structure into three acts, transporting audiences from the cold court of Sicilia to the vibrant pastoral world of Bohemia and back again. The transition is more than geographic – it is tonal, emotional and theatrical.

Wheeldon credits director Sir Nicholas Hytner, who was then leading London’s National Theatre, with suggesting the play.

"It was Nick identifying the problems that sort of have plagued theater directors over the centuries with “Winter’s Tale” that are actually quite a benefit to the ballet structure," Wheeldon said.

The pastoral interludes of Act II, often difficult to stage theatrically, offer rich opportunities for corps de ballet and choreographic invention.

Wheeldon has made only minor tweaks to the production since its premiere.

"A couple of little ones but nothing significant," he said.

The emotional core remains intact: a sweeping arc of jealousy, remorse and forgiveness.

"I think those are the themes that are most appealing to me, especially in this day and age," Wheeldon said. "I don't think there can be any hope unless we believe in people's capacity for change.’

*Skylar Brandt joined ABT in 2010 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2020. She will play the role of Perdita in “The Winter’s Tale” on April 4 and 6. Photo courtesy of ABT/Taylor Brandt*

Skylar Brandt Steps into Perdita

For ABT principal dancer Skylar Brandt, who takes on the role of Perdita, the experience of performing “The Winter’s Tale” is both fresh and grounded in tradition.

"It's inspiring, for sure," Brandt said. "I had signed up for a Medici TV subscription so that I could watch it before we started work on it. And I thought it was really beautiful."

Still, Brandt is eager for ABT to put its own stamp on the ballet.

"The artists in ABT are really unique and special and will bring something different to the entire ballet," she said. "So I'm kind of excited to see our dancers do it."

Perdita enters in Act II, a moment of emotional reprieve following the play’s stormy opening.

"By the time Act II is happening, it's kind of like a real mood shift. There's a lot more joy, a lot more celebration," Brandt said. "Her lightness and her kind of effortless beauty is, I think, a defining feature of the ballet."

Wheeldon agreed that the ballet’s dualities – light and dark, rage and grace – give it both dramatic shape and human resonance. In shaping the characters physically, he often looks to Shakespeare’s own words for inspiration. He cited a line from the play where King Leontes, overcome with jealousy, says "I have drunk and seen the spider."

"It’s this great, very physical image of jealousy," Wheeldon said. "That sort of gave me the idea to begin the first seed of jealousy in the hand, like a spider kind of crawling toward the body and then piercing the sternum."

“The Winter's Tale” features a score by Joby Talbot and atmospheric designs by Bob Crowley.

Photos of The Royal Ballet, courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

A Living Collaboration

Wheeldon’s long-term collaborators help bring such imagery to life. The wishing tree with 1,400 trinkets in Act II, for example, is a sculptural centerpiece of Bohemia and was inspired by a real one that Wheeldon saw in Seattle.

"It should be a tree that's been festooned with ornaments that mean something to this community," Wheeldon said to Crowley early on in the process.

"They are all hung individually. It took about a week and a half for the props department at the Royal Opera House to hang all 1,400."

Brandt appreciates the care and complexity in Wheeldon’s world-building.

"I think he's very skilled at creating each character," Brandt said. "He puts himself into the body of each character and what they're feeling and what they're thinking, and the movement sort of evolves from that."

She added: "Every step feels very intentional ..,. But then within that, he kind of allows each person to play with it and color it and find their own layers and their own voice."

That sense of trust and familiarity extends beyond the studio for Brandt, who considers Segerstrom an ideal setting for the production’s debut.

“What I love about going to Segerstrom is that it feels like a second home to us,” she said. “We go there at least once a year. This year, we're actually going three times.”

Offstage, her routine is set: trips to Din Tai Fung and The Camp are a must. Onstage, she hopes audiences walk away moved.

"I hope they are transcended. I hope that they can experience a departure from their day and kind of get to escape through the arts," Brandt said.

Wheeldon echoed the sentiment. "What is wonderful about “Winter’s Tale” is there are many characters, and I think it is easy to find yourself and relate to the kind of emotions that these characters are going through," he said.

"Even for the non-ballet public ... there's a lot to relate to. It's visual, it's beautiful, and the music is relatable. And I think we can all recognize ourselves in these characters."