Deborah Wingert began her training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth ballet under Marcia Dale Weary before joining the School of American Ballet in New York as a scholarship student. At the age of sixteen, she was selected by George Balanchine to join New York City Ballet. During her fifteen years with the company, Ms. Wingert danced over 25 principal, soloist and featured roles. A principal and soloist dancer with numerous nationally acclaimed companies, she has also performed for film and television and is a prize-winning choreographer.
Currently, Ms. Wingert is Head Faculty at Manhattan Youth Ballet, and she is also teaches and is ballet mistress for Lydia Johnson Dance. In addition, she teaches company class for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and has taught for Kyle Abraham. Ms. Wingert is one of a small group of artists selected by the George Balanchine Trust to set Balanchine’s choreography. In this capacity, she has traveled throughout the United States and Europe setting and staging the Balanchine repertoire for dance programs at institutions including Indiana University, Butler University, Princeton University, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Barnard College, Goucher College, Harvard University, Baltimore School for the Arts, and North Carolina School of the Arts. Ms. Wingert has also been a guest lecturer and instructor for the New York City Public Library, the University of Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania Governor’s School of the Arts, and the Northeast Ballet.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was little I wanted to be a teacher……of English or literature. I was that little girl with her nose in a book, reading magical stories. (both of my parents were high school and college teachers.) As for becoming a ballet teacher, my teacher Marcia Dale Weary started me, asking me to give a warm up or a class. I had to learn everything as a student, so I suppose that is why I can explain it now.
Favorite food
Sushi, and things that are savory, and anything caramel!
Favorite book
I love mysteries, and books about dance and theater, and novels, and biographies, and spiritual inspiration…..I guess all books!
Favorite movies
Funny Face, My Fair Lady, Rear Window, The Polar Express, I try to enjoy and embrace everything I see, and I see all kinds of dance. I adore musicals and plays and have seen over 60 with my 13 year old daughter Ava!
I like dancers who…
are intelligent, passionate, dedicated, inspiring, and who know how to enjoythemselves. Hard work always pays off, no matter what. I like dances who think, feel and know what is going on!
I am afraid of…
not very much…..I lost both my parents within 2 years of one another, quickly, so there isn’t much that is worse than that for me. I believe in living in the moment as often as possible and I look to my daughter and husband to keep me grounded and realistic!
A Dance piece should…
Be authentic…..performed with attention to all details, as well as the big picture. I love when dancers work together to bring a piece alive. Every dancer is important and vital and the care always shows.
Something you like to do other than your current job?
I like to write!
Your happiest moment…
One of my happiest moments was the birth of my child! My husband, Elliott, and my best friend Marisa were there! I love watching my child, knowing she came from me…..but entirely her own person!
Most unusual/coolest experience…
I think the fact that I am from Mechanicsburg, PA, and got into SAB and the NYC Ballet is pretty cool.
Most embarrassing experience…
When I took off at the wrong moment in a ballet, realized it and stepped back…..but the ENTIRE corps de ballet followed ME!
Who has been the most influential person in your career?
So many people guided me….first, my teacher Marcia! I collect people and learn from everyone I meet. The opportunity to continue to learn is what inspires me.
The hardest thing about performing…
For me the hardest thing about performing was trusting my technique to deliver. I often felt I wasn’t enough….but when I trusted the work I’d done and stayed in the moment, I could be authentic. In teaching, it is the hardest to tell someone they are not ready to dance something yet.
Any goals you would like to achieve ten years from now?
staging Mr. Balanchine’s ballets for companies, teaching, writing……..and a few more vacations with my family!
Describe yourself in three words.
devoted, interested, loving
A question you want an answer to…
too many…….!
What piece of advice could you give young artists?
Work hard. Expect nothing. Feel gratitude for all you do receive…..every part or role is a gift and your job is to embrace that. You will stand out and be respected for that kind of work ethic and be able to use it in life after dance. Be kind and generous to all you meet- every job, from stage crew to costumes to shoe maker is crucial to the machine! Experiment and look around….see all you can- from art, music,theater, sports, nature… It will inform you and inspiration is all around us. Most of all be someone you want to be…..be able to look in that mirror and say “I like who I am”!
Photo by: Erin Baiano
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