Neighborhood News: The Joffrey Ballet-from New York to Chicago
Considered one of the premier dance companies performing today, the Joffrey Ballet Chicago plays a vital role in the dance community as one of the largest dance companies and dance education providers in Chicago and the greater Midwest region.
For nearly 70 years, the company has earned a reputation for boundary-breaking performances, including its 1987 presentation of Vaslav Nijinsky’s‘The Rite of Spring,’ which reconstructed the original choreography from the 1913 premiere that was thought to be lost. Many choreographers have worked with the Joffrey, including Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and George Balanchine.
The company performs contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual presentation of The Nutcracker.
New York beginnings
According to their website, young ballet dancers/instructors Robert Joffreyand Gerald Arpino opened the Joffrey Ballet School on Sixth Avenue in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1953. Within a year, while still dancing and teaching, these two young, ambitious men debuted the Robert Joffrey Ballet Concert with performances at the 92nd St. YMCA. As Wikipedia sources note, in 1956, a time during which most touring companies performed only reduced versions of ballet classics, The two innovators formed a six-dancer ensemble that toured the country in a station wagon pulling a U-Haul trailer, performing original ballets created by Joffrey. The original six dancers were Arpino, Dianne Consoer, Brunilda Ruiz, Glen Tetley, Beatrice Tompkins, and John Wilson. While Joffrey stayed in New York City to teach ballet classes and earn money to pay the dancers’ salaries, Arpino led the troupe. The ensemble first performed in Chicago in 1957.
A history of ‘Firsts’
The entrepreneur troupe established numerous ‘firsts’ along the way:
The Joffrey was the first dance company to perform at the White House at Jacqueline Kennedy’s invitation, the first to appear on American television, the first classical dance company to use multi-media, the first to create a ballet set to rock music, the first to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, and the first company to have had a major motion picture based on their dance company in Robert Altman’s penultimate film, The Company, according to Wikipedia sources. In it, actor Malcolm McDowell played the ballet company’s artistic director, a character based on Gerald Arpino. Most of the roles are played by actual company members.
Arpino would create nearly 50 ballets for The Joffrey Ballet, including landmark works like Trinity and Round of Angels to Suite Saint-Saëns and Light Rain. He passed away in 2008. Robert Joffrey died in 1988.
Home to stay in Chicago in 1995
As Wikipedia sources note, in 1995, the company left New York City for Chicago to establish a permanent residence here. The first few years in Chicago were financially arduous for the company, nearly causing it to close several times, but audiences later became larger and younger. In 2005, the Joffrey Ballet celebrated its 10th anniversary in Chicago and in 2007 concluded a two-season-long 50th-anniversary celebration, including a “River to River” tour of free, outdoor performances across Iowa, sponsored by Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa.
The company has an extensive touring schedule, an education program including the Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, Community Engagement program, and collaborations with other visual and performing arts organizations.
As the New York Times wrote on the company’s 50th Anniversary, the company’s 1995 re-establishment of itself as the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago — was “a daring if necessary move.” The troupe had had great success in touring engagements in Chicago over the years, but the city had the reputation of being tough on its own dance companies. “The company has been reborn here,” Hedy Weiss, the former dance and theater critic of The Chicago Sun-Times, said at the time.
In 2021, the Joffrey moved from the Auditorium Theater—where it had performed since 1998—to the Civic Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, and their dance studios and offices at the Joffrey Tower, 10 East Randolph Street in downtown Chicago.
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
This spring, Alexander Ekman’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is “a mind-bending trip to a surreal realm of unearthly delights. Set during the traditional Scandinavian summer solstice festival, dancers celebrate a day of revelry and romance under the maypole, which soon unravels into an otherworldly dream.” Performances will run through May 5. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
