After the Rain | vildwerk. — Dancing For Our Wonderful World, New York Live Arts, December 2025

Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon Performed by New York City Ballet's Mira Nadon & Preston Chamblee (December 17|18) Music by Arvo Pärt Original Costumes by Holly Hynes Original Lighting by Mark Stanley Lighting Design at NYLA by Jack Mehler Award-winning choreographer and vildwerk. founding Advisory Board member Christopher Wheeldon, OBE created After the Rain in 2005 for New York City Ballet’s annual New Combinations Evening, honoring the anniversary of George Balanchine’s birth with a new world premiere. The ballet unfolds in two parts: an opening section for three couples, followed by a second, deeply intimate pas de deux performeed at Dancing for Our Wonderful World. Originally performed by Wendy Whelan and Jock Soto—Wheeldon’s final creation for Soto before his retirement—the pas de deux has since become iconic. On a sparse stage, a couple dressed in simple attire moves through gestures of tenderness, vulnerability, and quiet devotion, giving the work its timeless emotional resonance. Mira Nadon, Preston Chamblee, Isabella Boylston, and Craig Hall offered vildwerk. supporters a rare window into the technically and emotionally complex rehearsal process of this legendary ballet in early December 2025. They laid bare their personal feelings and experiences with remarkable openness — something for which we are deeply grateful - and performed this masterpiece to a sold out audience in support of vildwerk.s mission of raising environmental conservation awareness through ballet. Videography by Jacob Hiss Edited by Paige Rocker Cover image by Hisae Aihara