Joffrey Ballet

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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^[1]. The company regularly performs classical ballets such as Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern dance pieces. Many prolific choreographers have worked with the Joffrey including Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, and founders Gerald Arpino and Robert Joffrey.

History

In 1956, a time during which most touring companies performed only reduced versions of ballet classics, Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino 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 Joffrey. While Joffrey stayed in New York City to teach ballet classes and earn money to pay the dancers' salaries, Gerald Arpino led the troupe across America's heartland. The ensemble's first performance in a major city occurred in Chicago in 1957. The Joffrey Ballet originally settled down in New York City, originally named the Robert Joffrey Theatre Ballet. In 1962, modern choreographer Alvin Ailey 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's The Green Table in 1967, followed by revivals of Ashton's Façade, Cranko's Pineapple Poll, Fokine's Petrushka (with Rudolf Nureyev), and Massine's Le Tricorne, Le Beau Danube and Parade. In 1973, Robert Joffrey asked Twyla Tharp 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.^[2] 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^[3] 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 University in Chicago, 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 Nutcracker, presented in conjunction with the Chicago Sinfonietta.

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 master for San Francisco Ballet, 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.^[4]

The Joffrey Ballet appeared in the major motion picture Save the Last Dance (2001), when the two protagonists of the story saw the company perform Sea Shadow and Les Présages in Chicago. It was also the subject of Robert Altman's penultimate film, The Company (2003). This movie stars Malcolm McDowell as the ballet company's artistic director, a character based on Gerald Arpino, 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 Tower [1] at 10 East Randolph Street in downtown Chicago. 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.

References

• Anawalt, Sasha. (January 19, 1998). The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press; Paperback Edition. ISBN 978-0226017556

External links

• Joffrey Ballet Company website
• Joffrey Tower on Emporis
• Company profile and upcoming performances on SeeChicagoDance.com

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