Joffrey Ballet – Clef Notes Chicagoland Journal for the Arts

Joffrey Ballet Bringing “Of Mice and Men” to Lyric Opera House

February 23, 2022April 13, 2022 Patrick Curran Joffrey Ballet

The Joffrey Ballet has announced its spring program, which includes the world-premiere adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men by choreographer Cathy Marston (featuring an original composition by Academy Award-nominated composer Thomas Newman), and the Joffrey premiere of Serenade by dance pioneer George Balanchine, presented during the Joffrey’s first-ever season at the historic Lyric Opera House in downtown Chicago.

Ballet Dance

Joffrey Ballet Announces 2022 Winning Works Choreographers

December 7, 2021 Fred Cummings Joffrey Academy of Dance, Joffrey Ballet

offrey Academy of Dance has announced the recipients of the 12th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition: Audrey Ipapo Baran, Joffrey Company Artist Edson Barbosa, Taylor Carrasco, and Derick McKoy. This announcement follows a national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications, which began in June. The choreographers’ world premiere works will be showcased by the dancers of the Joffrey Studio Company and the Joffrey Academy Trainee Program in four performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago from March 18 – 20, 2022.

Ballet Dance

Joffrey Ballet Announces Return of Possokhov’s Don Quixote

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 Fred Cummings Don Quixote, Joffrey Ballet, Lyric Opera of Chicago

The Joffrey Ballet is kicking off off 2022 with the remount of Yuri Possokhov’s fresh interpretation of Don Quixote, the classic story written by Miguel De Cervantes, presented during the Joffrey’s first-ever season at the historic Lyric Opera House in downtown Chicago at 20 North Upper Wacker Drive, in 10 performance only, February 16–27, 2022.

Ballet Dance

Joffrey Ballet Welcomes Four New Dancers from Across the Globe

September 16, 2021September 16, 2021 Fred Cummings Joffrey Ballet

The Joffrey Ballet’s Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director and Greg Cameron, President and CEO have announced the addition of four dancers to the Joffrey roster for the 2021-22 season: Brian Bennett (Lanham, Maryland), Blake Kessler (Jacksonville, Florida), Yuchan Kim (Seoul, South Korea) and Miranda Silveira (Barcelona, Spain). With these new company members, The Joffrey Ballet has expanded to 43 dancers representing 13 countries.

Greg-Cameron-Raymond-Rodriguez-Joffrey-Academy-Team

Ballet Dance

Joffrey Ballet Expands Growing Footprint into Chicago’s South Loop

May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 Fred Cummings Ashley Wheater, Joffrey Ballet

The Joffrey Ballet has announced the establishment of new studio space and training facilities at 1920 South Wabash Avenue (formerly

Ballet Dance

Joffrey Ballet to Present First Performance Since Start of the Pandemic

January 23, 2021January 23, 2021 Patrick Curran Ashley Wheater, Bolero, Joffrey Ballet

The Joffrey Ballet recently announced the world premiere of Boléro, its first performance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Named after the acclaimed orchestral piece by composer Maurice Ravel and choreographed by Joffrey Company Artist Yoshihisa Arai, the performance will be streamed in one free performance on February 12, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. on the Joffrey’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/TheJoffreyBallet.

Raymond-Rodriguez-Joffrey-Academy-of-Dance

Ballet Dance Winter 2021

Out of the Ashes: A New Role At Joffrey Academy

January 11, 2021March 12, 2021 Fred Cummings Abbot Fund, Joffrey Academy of Dance, Joffrey Ballet, Raymond Rodriguez

Queen Elizabeth dubbed 1992 “Annus Horribilis” (horrible year) because of the various tumultuous events that had wreaked havoc within her royal family that year. Annus horribilis might also be an accurate description of the year 2020, when a once-in-a-century global pandemic wrought havoc upon our nation’s economy and social distancing mandates forced the closure of most of the nation’s arts and cultural institutions.

Autumn 2020 Ballet Dance

Chronicling Chicago Dance

November 1, 2020December 1, 2020 Vickie Moore Chicago Dance History Project, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Joffrey Ballet

As the effects of the global pandemic have laid economic devastation to so many aspects of American social, economic and culture life, every individual, business, and institution has had to reimagine and reinterpret norms in order to survive. Like other industries that depend upon public attendance and participation, eight months of social distancing, mask mandates, and public gathering limitations have devastated Chicago’s arts venues. Bedrock cultural institutions like the Joffrey Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago have all had to shutter their stages as the pandemic has made enclosed, indoor audience participation all but impossible.

Joffrey-Ballet-and-Lyric-Opera-Orphee-et-Eurydice

Ballet Dance Summer 2020

Joffery’s Big Move

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020 Leslie Price Ashley Wheater, Auditorium Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Autumn 2020 brings a new and exciting partnership for Chicago audiences to enjoy when the Joffrey Ballet officially joins forces with the Lyric Opera to share the iconic Lyric Opera House on North Wacker Drive.

The partnership of these two pillars of the Chicago cultural scene has developed over time. First, as an artistic collaboration with 2017’s Orphée et Eurydice, a thrilling piece that blended the musical talents of the Lyric with ballet sequences performed by the Joffrey. During this laudable production, these cherished arts institutions discovered a kind of symbiosis that held the potential for extension beyond a single event.