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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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