#The Ballad of Mack and Ginny

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Wendy Whelan in Arthur Pita’s The Ballad of Mack and Ginny, part of Other Stories, Fall for Dance Festival 2016, September 2016. © Foteini Christofilopoulou.

Other Stories offers a hitherto unseen side of Whelan, who built her career dancing works by Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, and Alexei Ratmansky. Here, she’s a tough gal in high heels, thigh-high stockings, and garters; her makeup is pure Greta Garbo, with heavy lids and a downturned mouth. Her legs are long, and maybe the getup makes them look even longer; in any case, as they say, she has legs for miles.

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Wendy Whelan and Edward Watson in Arthur Pita’s The Ballad of Mack and Ginny, part of Other Stories, Whelan/Watson, July 2015. © Foteini Christofilopoulou.

Whelan and Watson make themselves up before us as Mack the Knife and his prostitute girlfriend Ginny/Jenny. They are preparing for one of those sado-masochistic tangos that are bound to end up with someone (or both) getting badly hurt.