Dance Chicagoan of 2013: Ashley Wheater of the Joffrey Ballet
"The first couple of years were tough," says Ashley Wheater, Joffrey Ballet artistic director since 2007. "The company was in transition, we hit a terrible recession." But an old friend, Houston Ballet's Stanton Welch, told him, "You will fall in love with your company." Now, Wheater says, "I know what he means. You just have to keep investing. Today, I am very much in love with my company."