Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Wiles.
Hi Michele, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Michele Wiles, I am Artistic Director of BalletNEXT and former principal ballerina of American Ballet Theatre. Thank you for letting me share a bit about my journey and how I ended up in stunning Utah!
I started dancing at 3 years old in Pasadena, Maryland. My mother would take me to her exercise classes and when I heard music, I liked I would stand up in the middle of the room and dance. So, my mother signed me up for jazz and tap lessons at the Susan Ina Dance Studio.
Around 8 years old the teachers saw I had a lot of potentials and suggested I take ballet lessons to improve my technique. Rene Rasa was my first ballet teacher and I became enthralled with the technique. Something about ballet really connected with my soul. I became very serious and spent all my time watching videos of the great prima ballerinas. By 10 years old I made up my mind to become a great ballerina. My parents took me to see Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center and I was determined to become the greatest dancer in the world and join the greatest company (American Ballet Theatre).
Next, all the training, discipline, and hard work! I was offered a scholarship to train in London at the Royal Ballet School. Unfortunately, my parents would have to sign legal guardianship over because I was 10. Fortunately, Kirov Academy opened in Washington, D.C. and I was offered a full scholarship to train in the Vaganova Ballet Method. So, I moved away from home at 10 and trained with the Russians!
During this time, I maintained competing in local dance competitions in different styles of dance and even had the opportunity to perform on Star Search! Traveled to St Petersburg Russia and performed on Moscow TV. I had the opportunity at 15 to compete in International Ballet Competitions. I won a Bronze in Nagoya, Japan, a gold in Varna, Bulgaria ( the Olympics of ballet), and a finalist in the Paris competition. Then it was time to do this professionally.
I auditioned for ABT (my dream company) and Boston Ballet.- accepted at both- decide to go to New York and join the American Ballet Theatre. It was a rocket ship to the moon- I became a soloist in 2 years and a principal ballerina 5 years later. During that time I won the Princess Grace Award and the Eric Bruhn Prize. Some of my favorite principal roles were Swan Queen, Sylvia, Hagar in Pillar of Fire, Gamzatti in La Bayadere, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Kitri from Don Q.
Part of the job is dealing with injury and at 25, the moment I was promoted principal, I had a back injury that kept me out for 6 months. The longest I’d ever been away from dancing. David Howard (ballet teacher to the stars) came into my life and said “you are a great dancer, now let go”! This gave me the opportunity to discover my love of dancing again and fueled my next 6 years as a principal ballerina. This was the period when I became an artist.
During this time, I met my husband, James McCullough and decided to leave ABT in 2010 at the age of 30. I dreamt of creating my own company BalletNEXT and had a gala 6 months after leaving ABT. BalletNEXT is a platform for classically trained dancers and unique artists to come together to create unexpected performances. I was fascinated by choreography and wanted to work with different artists and choreographers to see what we could make. Mauro Bigonzetti, Brian Reeder, William Forsythe are some of my favorites. Also, I got to work with an amazing trumpet player, Tom Harrell, a flex dancer, Jay Donn, we even made Sign Language Ballet. We started programs in Brooklyn with The YMCA. Then I started to choreograph more and more.
In 2017 I had my daughter Jacey! In 2018 I was asked to choreograph for the University of Utah’s School of Dance. 2019, after 23 years in NYC, our family moved to Park City. In 2020 BalletNEXT made its debut at OP Rockwell on Main Street. Since then we’ve formed partnerships with Park City Library and Park City Institute. We’ve had 2 summer series and debuted a nutcracker. This spring we will be creating a sleeping beauty with the park city library and performances at the Eccles theatre will be Jan 8, February 5, and March 26. Thankful for the support of the RAP tax grant and Park City Community Foundation. I’m honored and touched at how quickly the Park City community is embracing BalletNEXT. We love it here. It’s home.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was challenging to live away from home at 10 years old. I missed my family a lot and they missed me. But I had to dance!
A professional life in the big city had its moments. You’re so young dealing with a big career and a lot of pressure. It was hard to have a normal social life because the career was so demanding. We are athletes, but are expected to be artists. Somehow the two didn’t go together. Having the confidence to let go of the technical athlete was one of the most wonderful discoveries I made in my career at ABT.
Starting BalletNEXT was a huge learning curve. I was suddenly doing everything on my own without the big company behind me. I became an entrepreneur- responsible for how everything came together. It was almost too much work in so many different directions, but I loved it.
Having my daughter has inspired me to evolve even further. I’ve learned balance and had the courage to move to a completely different place. Now, I totally understand my parents.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the Artistic Director of BalletNEXT.
My favorite things to do are dance, direct, choreograph, and raise my daughter. Also, love to connect and partner with other nonprofits.
Dancing my way through life has been quite the journey and there’s much more to come.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
You have to have joy in your work. If you aren’t enjoying what you do- you have to reevaluate and discover that again.
Contact Info:
- Website: Balletnext.com
- Instagram: Balletnext
- Facebook: Balletnext
