Reactions on Christopher Wheeldon's Split From Morphoses

By now, you’ve probably heard the news that choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is leaving Morphoses/The Christopher Wheeldon Company, which he founded with Lourdes Lopez three years ago.

In a New York Times article, Wheeldon cited a lack of resources as the reason for his departure. In particular, he mentioned that Morphoses wasn’t able keep a permanent, full company. 21-year-old freelance dancer Taylor Gordon told DS she thinks the company will continue to face similar problems, perhaps even more so without the support of Wheeldon’s marquee name. “If they’re having financial issues with him,” Taylor says, “they’re certainly going to have them without him.”

“I was surprised,” Taylor says. “but maybe not as much as other people. Wheeldon’s been very successful and Morphoses is great. But as an individual, he has a lot going for him. He has worked with many different people. So it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t want to stay committed to one thing, even though it was his project.”

In a press release, Lopez said the company will drop its former subtitle and now be known as Morphoses. Lopez also explained plans for the company’s future: “Morphoses will adopt a curatorial model in which the company will invite artists from various disciplines to take on the role of resident artist for one season, leading the company’s artistic vision for that year.”

For ongoing updates about this story, check the DS website. And tell DS what you think about the situation on the Talk to Us page.