The
Joffrey Ballet is a dance company founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as
The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. It is considered one of the foremost ballet companies in the world. The company regularly performs classical ballets such as
Romeo & JulietRomeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Music from the ballet was extracted by Prokofiev as three suites for orchestra and as a piano work.-Ballet:...
and
The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker Op. 71, is a fairy tale-ballet in two acts, three scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92. Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A...
, while balancing those classics with pioneering
modern danceModern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century broom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Origins:...
pieces. Many prolific choreographers have worked with the Joffrey including Paul Taylor,
Twyla TharpTwyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer. She has won Emmy and Tony awards, and currently works as a choreographer in New York City.-Early years:...
,
George BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Melitonis dze Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to Georgian parents, was one of the 20th century's foremost choreographers, a pioneer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet: his work created modern ballet, based...
, and founders
Gerald ArpinoGerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Biography:...
and
Robert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
.
In 1956, a time during which most touring companies performed only reduced versions of
balletBallet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form...
classics,
Robert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
and
Gerald ArpinoGerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Biography:...
formed a unique six-dancer ensemble that toured the country in a station wagon pulling a U-Haul trailer, performing original ballets that were created by
Robert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
.
The
Joffrey Ballet is a dance company founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as
The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. It is considered one of the foremost ballet companies in the world. The company regularly performs classical ballets such as
Romeo & JulietRomeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. Music from the ballet was extracted by Prokofiev as three suites for orchestra and as a piano work.-Ballet:...
and
The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker Op. 71, is a fairy tale-ballet in two acts, three scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92. Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A...
, while balancing those classics with pioneering
modern danceModern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century broom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Origins:...
pieces. Many prolific choreographers have worked with the Joffrey including Paul Taylor,
Twyla TharpTwyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer. She has won Emmy and Tony awards, and currently works as a choreographer in New York City.-Early years:...
,
George BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Melitonis dze Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to Georgian parents, was one of the 20th century's foremost choreographers, a pioneer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet: his work created modern ballet, based...
, and founders
Gerald ArpinoGerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Biography:...
and
Robert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
.
History
In 1956, a time during which most touring companies performed only reduced versions of
balletBallet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form...
classics,
Robert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
and
Gerald ArpinoGerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Biography:...
formed a unique six-dancer ensemble that toured the country in a station wagon pulling a U-Haul trailer, performing original ballets that were created by
Robert JoffreyRobert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer and choreographer, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets...
. While Joffrey stayed in New York City to teach ballet classes and earn money to pay the dancers' salaries,
Gerald ArpinoGerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Biography:...
led the troupe across America's heartland. The ensemble's first performance in a major city occurred in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
in 1957. The Joffrey Ballet originally settled down in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, originally named the Robert Joffrey Theatre Ballet. In 1962, modern choreographer
Alvin AileyAlvin Ailey, Jr. was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance...
was invited to make a work for the company. Rebekah Harkness was an important early benefactor and she made international touring possible (Soviet Union, 1963). But in 1964 she and Joffrey parted ways.
Joffrey started again, building up a new company that made its debut in 1965 as the Joffrey Ballet. Following a successful season at the New York City Center in 1966, it was invited to become City Center's resident ballet company with Robert Joffrey as artistic director and Arpino as chief choreographer. The 1960s and 1970s were a golden era for the company. Arpino's 1970 rock ballet
Trinity was a big hit; Joffrey revived
Kurt Jooss'sKurt Jooss was a German modern dancer and choreographer mixing classical ballet with theatre; he is also widely regarded as the founder of Dance Theatre or Tanztheater...
The Green TableThe Green Table is the masterpiece of German choreographer Kurt Jooss, and his most popular work, depicting the futility of peace negotiations of the 1930's...
in 1967, followed by revivals of
Ashton'sSir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of the Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues...
Façade,
Cranko's'John Cyril Cranko was a choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet....
Pineapple Poll,
Fokine'sMichel Fokine was a groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer....
Petrushka (with
Rudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Tatar dancer from the Soviet Union, primarily known for his work in ballet. He defected despite KGB efforts...
), and Massine's
Le Tricorne,
Le Beau Danube and
Parade. In 1973, Robert Joffrey asked
Twyla TharpTwyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer. She has won Emmy and Tony awards, and currently works as a choreographer in New York City.-Early years:...
to create her first commissioned ballet,
Deuce Coupe. The company continued as City Center Joffrey Ballet until 1977. From 1977, it performed as the Joffrey Ballet, with a second home established in Los Angeles from (1982-1992). In 1995, the company left New York City and returned to Chicago to establish a permanent residence.
The first several years in Chicago were financially arduous for the company, causing it to nearly shut its doors more than once; however, recent years have seen a significant revitalization as the performances have attracted larger and younger audiences. In 2005, the Joffrey Ballet celebrated its 10th anniversary in Chicago and in 2007 concluded a very well-received two-season-long 50th anniversary celebration, a milestone few American ballet companies have enjoyed.
The Joffrey today
Currently, the company boasts 42 dancers and performs its regular October-May season at the Auditorium Theatre of
Roosevelt UniversityRoosevelt University is a private institution of higher education with full service campuses in Chicago's Loop and northwest suburban Schaumburg...
in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, as well as several domestic and international tours throughout the year. Its repertoire consists of both classical and contemporary pieces, as well as annual December performances of
The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker Op. 71, is a fairy tale-ballet in two acts, three scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composed in 1891–92. Alexandre Dumas père's adaptation of the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A...
, presented in conjunction with the
Chicago SinfoniettaThe Chicago Sinfonietta is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. The stated mission of the orchestra is to "serve as a national model for inclusiveness and innovation in classical music" and to "help America become a true cultural democracy, in which everyone can share fully in its...
.
On July 1, 2007, Gerald Arpino, co-founder, resident choreographer, and artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet, retired from day-to-day operations after 50 years with the company, taking the title artistic director emeritus, which he held until his death on October 29, 2008. In October 2007, Ashley Wheater, assistant artistic director and
ballet masterBallet Master is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company...
for
San Francisco BalletThe San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as part of San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
, and former Joffrey dancer, became only the third person to ever serve as artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet when he was named as Gerald Arpino’s replacement.
The Joffrey Ballet appeared in the major motion picture
Save the Last DanceSave the Last Dance is a 2001 romantic drama film produced by MTV Films, directed by Thomas Carter and released by Paramount Pictures on January 12, 2001. The film stars Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas as a teenage interracial couple in Chicago who work together to help the main character,...
(2001), when the two protagonists of the story saw the company perform
Sea Shadow and
Les Présages in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
. It was also the subject of
Robert AltmanRobert Bernard Altman was an American film director known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective...
's penultimate film,
The Company (2003). This movie stars
Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor. McDowell's career has spanned more than forty years and includes notable roles in if...., A Clockwork Orange, O Lucky Man!, Tank Girl, Star Trek Generations, the TV serial Our Friends in the North, Entourage, Heroes, Metalocalypse, the 2007 remake of Halloween...
as the ballet company's artistic director, a character based on
Gerald ArpinoGerald Arpino was an American dancer and choreographer. He was the artistic director and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet.-Biography:...
, and is composed of stories gathered from the actual dancers, choreographers, and office staff of the Joffrey Ballet. Most of the roles are played by real-life company members.
In August 2008, the Joffrey Ballet moved into its first permanent home, the
Joffrey TowerThe Joffrey Tower is the name of the high-rise commercial real estate development on the northeast corner of North State Street and East Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States that is the permanent home of the Joffrey Ballet...
http://www.joffrey.com/press_10.html at 10 East Randolph Street in downtown
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
. The Joffrey Academy of Dance is the official school of the Joffrey Ballet and is located in the Joffrey Tower. The school officially opened in January 2009.
External links