BalletNEXT: Art is a Cornerstone for Our Community
Michele Wiles spent 15 years as a dancer with the American Ballet Theatre “in a very high-pressure environment.” In 2011, Wiles performed her final Swan Lake at the Metropolitan Opera House; “I needed to step away…to explore another part of my artistry to keep growing. For a principal dancer to step away from the big stage at the peak came with a lot of controversy—lots of sharp reactions.” Shortly after her swan song with the American Ballet Theatre, Wiles launched BalletNEXT in front of a sold-out audience at the Joyce Theater. “I certainly did not appreciate how difficult and complex creating a new performance platform was going to be—in some aspects much harder than rising through the ranks in a major company. But an explosion of creativity came with the difficulties—my choreography took off and I experienced new forms of dance I would never have engaged in a classical ballet company.” Wiles also realized that perfecting her pointe work did not translate to the skills needed to run her own company: “I also went to the school of business hard knocks—they don’t teach you how to become a business manager in the ballet studio!”
In 2018 The University of Utah invited Wiles to choreograph a ballet with their top dancers. The performance then toured the New Victory Theatre on Broadway and Bill T. Jones’s Live Arts Theatre, and Wiles became an adjunct professor at the U for 18 months. “During that time my husband (who has been skiing here since the late 1980s) and I took a drive to Park City and I fell in love. That same weekend we bought a condo on Main Street and everything began to fall into place in a magical and very natural way. We left New York City for good and moved full time to Park City the summer of 2019.” Though her move to the mountains of Utah may have had the pacing of a whirlwind romance, Wiles feels deeply committed to Park City. “Honestly, it’s the warmth of the Park City community that has made me feel so at home here. The community support is an inspiration and is the perfect environment to build a world-class, professional performing ballet company.” It probably helped that Wiles finds Utah Winters and their ensuing sports enchanting, claiming, “I love the winters and the snow—ballerinas are typically creatures of the indoor studio! And I love cross country skiing—all of my dance colleagues around the world still comment with surprise and some concern!”
When not enjoying the outdoors, Wiles forges ahead with BalletNEXT’s mission to inspire interest in the classical dance form she has mastered; “I believe robust performance art is a long term cornerstone for a community. You can bring people of all persuasions and backgrounds together in the theatre and for a moment become lost in the majesty of the movement and music. We try to design our performances through unique programming, beautiful live music, classical and modern choreography to engage everyone, whether or not you have experience with or previous interest in ballet.” She points out that Summit County’s myriad of Arts & Culture venues and organizations have been key to the success of her company—“Park City does community the best! We have forged incredible partnerships with many groups including the Park City Institute, the Park City Library, and Park City [Municipal]. The infrastructure available for performance artists here including the Santy Auditorium and the Eccles Center are critical to being able to put on professional performances.”
Wiles highlights how she loves “the engagement of children here, many seeing ballet for their first time. We are getting a flood of interest from children wanting to participate in some of our excerpt classical productions like Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.” Additionally, all BalletNEXT tickets are free and donation-based. Wiles says this is because it is part of her mission “to have every child in Summit county see their first ballet for free.”
The adults of Summit County aren’t bad either. Wiles finds herself surrounded by people committed to athletics, though perhaps wearing fewer tutus than in her former city; “the number of high-end professional athletes I’m constantly interacting with who live in Park City keeps me inspired to dance at a professional level. It’s a fascinating mix of people who have come here to live.” We’re glad Wiles decided to add herself and BalletNEXT to the mix!
BalletNEXT performs throughout Summit County. You can see their performance schedule here, as well as find information on training opportunities and other ways to get involved.