Company. In 2012, she began a new collaborative project titled Restless Creature. She premiered this project at Jacob's Pillow in 2013. Whelan chose four choreographers—Kyle Abraham, Joshua Beamish, Brian Brooks, and Alejandro Cerrudo—to create dances for her. She has taken this production on national tour. It consists of four solos and duets, with Whelan dancing each duet with its choreographer. Following an accident in 2012, Whelan began experiencing pains in her right hip. In 2013, she had a surgical reconstruction on her hip, followed by physical therapy. She eventually returned to the stage. A documentary film, titled Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan and released in 2017, followed Whelan through her hip surgery and recovery, the project's creation, and the last two years of her NYCB career. In 2014, Whelan left NYCB after 30 years in the company. Her farewell performance was sold out within minutes. The performance included works by La sonnambula by Balanchine, pas de six from Dances at a Gathering by Robbins, Concerto DSCH, the After the Rain pas de deux, and a new work titled By 2 With & From by Wheeldon and Ratmansky. After her departure from ballet, she shifted her focus to contemporary dance. In 2015, she appeared in a mixed bill titled Whelan/Watson: Other Stories, alongside Royal Ballet principal Edward Watson in Linbury Studio Theatre, London. Whelan was appointed an Artistic Associate for developing new projects at New York City Center for a 2-year term from November 2014. Whelan was an artist-in-residence at Barnard College from November 2015 to May 2017. In 2017, she staged Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition for the Pacific Northwest Ballet. After Peter Martins' resignation in 2018 following allegations concerning emotional and physical abuse, Whelan was seen as a possible new director. A petition to hire her had over 15,000 signatures. In February 2019, Whelan was appointed as Associate Artistic Director of the NYCB. Jonathan Stafford, who had been acting as interim leader, was named Artistic Director. The two said they intended to work as partners, Stafford would be in charge of artistic operations while Whelan supervises programming. This is the first NYCB leadership that had never worked with Balanchine. Style Whelan is known for her angular body and muscularity, particularly suited to the Balanchine style. She had been called America’s greatest contemporary ballerina. Mikhail Baryshnikov commented she was "the best" and "there's a complexity, a sense of internal life, a