Displaying items by tag: Ballet

There is something magical about Chicago at Christmastime. Even if there is no snow on the ground, there is an energy in the atmosphere, peaceful and whimsical. Whether you take in the colorful zoo lights at The Lincoln Park Zoo, or stroll the Christkindl markets downtown, or ice skate in the shadow of Wrigley Field, there is magical nestled in every corner of the city. December winds bring a chill to The Windy City and signals the arrival of the holiday season with lights, cozy fires, warm drinks, and the most cherished of holiday traditions, The Joffrey Ballet’s The Nutcracker, now playing at the Lyric Opera.

For those who are unfamiliar with The Nutcracker, the fairy-tail-like ballet follows the story of a young girl named Clara who receives a nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve from a magical guest at the party. Clara's reality and dreams merge as she and her nutcracker embark on a magical adventure. The nutcracker transforms into a prince, and Clara and the prince travel to the Land of Sweets, where they meet the Sugarplum Fairy.

Joffrey’s Nutcracker follows a similar storyline with a magical Chicago twist. On a magical Christmas Eve, mere months before the opening of Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair, Marie and her mother, a sculptress creating the fair’s iconic Statue of the Republic, partake in a festive celebration with a surprise visit from the mysterious Great Impresario. That evening, after awakening to an epic battle between Toy Soldiers and The Rat King, Marie is swept away by a Nutcracker Prince on a whirlwind journey to the dreamlike fairgrounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition with sprawling attractions represented by countries from around the globe. Set to Tchaikovsky’s classic score, The Nutcracker features a celebrated creative team, including two-time Tony Award®-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, Tony Award®-nominated set and costume designer Julian Crouch, Caldecott Medal Award-winning author Brian Selznick, Obie and Drama Desk award-winning puppeteer Basil Twist, Tony Award®-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz and Tony Award®-winning projection designer Ben Pearcy. 

I have been seeing The Nutcracker every holiday season, moving from dancing in the ballet and watching in the wings, to the balcony seats to enjoy the performance. There is nothing quite like The Joffrey’s rendition of the classic ballet. The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 storyline works incredibly well with the production, from the humble beginnings of fair workers and their families, a kind and wealthy benefactor bequeathing the nutcracker doll, and a dreamlike world with Clara exploring the World’s Fair and all it had to offer. The 1893 World’s Fair inspired Frank E. Baum, utilizing the famed White City of the fair to inspire the Emerald City of Oz in The Wizard of Oz. The fair introduced the world to the Ferris Wheel, brownies, cracker jack popcorn, and the zipper. There were countries and states represented that visitors could only dream to have visited, right in their own backyard. Historical documents and first-hand accounts mention how magical and awe-inspiring the fair was, it’s easy to see how The Joffrey could look at the fair as a backdrop to The Nutcracker and see magic.

But even with the artistic direction The Joffrey took, it still begs the question of why do we see the same performance year after year after year? Artistic Director Ashley Wheater, MBE pondered the same thing. “I have asked myself, ‘How can we make this a special experience for people who have seen the Nutcracker before and for those attending for the first time?’,” says Wheater. “Part of the beauty of this Nutcracker: it is a Chicago story! We set the scene during an important time in the history of our city: the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1892. We identify with the working spirit of the people. We understand that joy can be found in simple things. We appreciate that magic is all around us, if only we look. The real “magic” of this Nutcracker, though, is that it changes every time we watch it. Each of us in the audience is different. We have loved, lost, struggled, succeeded, grown. We bring our own story to the theater. The beauty of live theater is that no two performances will be the same.”

The year’s opening night of The Nutcracker was nothing short of magical. Joffrey’s current company has to be one of their best in years with outstanding principles including Amanda Assucena, the mother and sculptress for the Fair (the Sugar Plum Fairy) and Alberto Velazquez, the Great Impresario of the Fair, and the darling Anabelle de la Nuez as Marie (Clara) and Maxwell Dawe as The Nutcracker. Each scene is a feast for the eyes with the entire company dancing exquisitely amount wreaths, glittering snow, and before giant Ferris wheels. Whether this is your first time seeing The Nutcracker, or your hundredth, there is nothing in the world like Joffrey’s Nutcracker. It is truly one of a kind and the perfect addition to any holiday plans. But much like The World’s Fair of 1893, the magic won’t be here forever, so don’t delay and get your tickets today.

The Nutcracker is now playing at The Lyric Opera House, (20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago) through December 28^th. The Performance run time is 2 hours, includes one 20-minute intermission. Tickets are available at www.joffrey.org.

What source materials make a great ballet? Can everything be interpreted through dance? It’s a fair question when considering Joffrey Ballet’s new adaptation of Ian McEwan’s complex novel. This sumptuous co-production with Ballett Zurich is proof that the sky’s the limit when it comes to what’s possible on stage.

Those who have read the novel or are familiar with the 2007 Joe Wright film will certainly find the plot a bit easier to follow. However, through Cathy Marston’s fascinating choreography, the ill-fated romance leaps off the stage. ‘Atonement’ begins at the Tallis family estate in the English countryside during one sultry summer evening in 1935. Young Briony Tallis (Yumi Kanazawa) witnesses a sexual congress between her older sister Cecilia (Amanda Asssucena) and Robbie (Alberto Velazquez), the son of one of the servants. Later in the evening, her cousin is attacked in the dark by an unknown prowler. Assuming the incidents are related, she implicates Robbie and forever changes the course of his and Cecilia’s lives.

Ian McEwan’s novel endures as one of the most inventive books of the early 00s in part because of its unique story structure. Joe Wright honored that in his film version by showing the same scenes from various points of view. ‘Atonement’ the ballet takes a unique approach to narrative structure with the traditional act order somewhat altered.

‘Atonement’ is forthrightly erotic. Given the deeply romantic plot between Cecilia and Robbie, it’s imperative for the audience to believe their chemistry. And that chemistry is hard to deny. Amanda Asssucena and Alberto Velazquez move with fluidity that may put a little sweat under your collar. Afterall, not every ballet is ‘The Nutcracker’.

Laura Rossi’s score pulls every emotion to the surface. A buoyant, romantic first act is balanced out by the urgent sounds that simulate the horrors of WWII-era London in the latter half of the ballet. Along with artful staging by Adam Blyde and Anastacia Holden, ‘Atonement’ is a feast. From the costumes to the minimalist setting, this production oozes sensuality.

The Joffrey Ballet has a certain knack for literary adaptation. ‘Atonement’ is another installment in their archive of hits. Classic settings provide a perfect backdrop for provocative modern steps that take your breath away. ‘Atonement’ achieves romantic complexity without words, proving how universal feelings of heartbreak and longing are. 

Through October 27 at Joffrey Ballet, Civic Opera House, 20 N Wacker Dr. 312-386-8905 

Frolicking season is upon us once again and Joffrey Ballet welcomes summer with the return of Alexander Ekman’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This production was last seen in Chicago in 2018. Told through a mix of ballet and modern dance, this striking and original show nods at both the Swedish holiday and the Shakespeare play.

Joffrey’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” asks what makes a dream and whether they ever truly end. In two vivid acts, the ballet explores one man’s dreams on the eve of the summer equinox. Much like “The Nutcracker”, the protagonist is whisked away to a fantastical dance party in his sleep.

The ballet opens with a rather literal roll in the hay that elicits the feeling of young love. Much of the first act takes place in this pastoral setting as the young lovers prepare for the Midsummer holiday. The visual spectacle created by flying hay paired with the original score by Mikael Karlsson is immediately mesmerizing. Though haunting live vocals provided by Swedish pop superstar Anna von Hausswolff really help the music soar to the Christmas light-adorned rafters. The first act’s peaceful feeling billows right off the stage as the protagonist, and the audience are jarred back to reality, left craving just a few more minutes of beauty sleep.

Act II is decidedly more mature. If the first act is about first love, the second act is about erotic love. The triumphant music of Act One is replaced with a stucco, semi-industrial sound. Elements of danger and dread are introduced through nightmarish imagery and shadowing. The dance is harsher, dispensing with the feathery ballet movements and going for a more tribal aesthetic.

Perhaps nothing is as transfixing however as the all-nude ballet complete with simulated sex and giant fish. Dreams don’t have to make sense. In the psychosexual nightmare, time is elastic, and after its eventual climax, we’re looped back to the ballet’s first image, showing the perpetuity of our dream cycles.

As an internationally acclaimed dance institution, expectations are always high for Joffrey Ballet, and in turn they do not disappoint. “Midsummer Night’s Dream” is stylish and sexy. Joffrey has a way of pushing the envelope, and their work feels daring. Though this is a revival, “Midsummer” feels as fresh as the first love depicted in the first act. The forthrightly erotic imagery and choreography and at times intense scoring are as alluring as they are unsettling. Throw in Anna von Hausswolff’s siren call and you’ll be sucked right into this magical work.

Through May 5 at Joffrey Ballet at Lyric Opera House. 20 N Wacker. (312) 332-2244.

I’ve loved the Joffrey Ballet for almost its entire lifetime (it was begotten just two years after I was). My first memories of seeing the Joffrey Ballet in performance date back to … the Eighties? Seventies? Any road, I’m not a joanie-come-lately fan of the Joffrey Ballet.

The Joffrey never disappoints. I’ve reviewed Joffrey Ballet several times here at Buzz Center Stage and my reviews reflect this: Joffrey Ballet never disappoints. But saying the Joffrey Ballet never disappoints is inadequate to the task of launching a review of STUDIES IN BLUE. I was transported; I was captivated; I was ensorcelled and entranced. In short, STUDIES IN BLUE is the finest program I’ve ever seen Joffrey Ballet perform. 

But I can’t just say that and go on about my day, yeah?  Right then: STUDIES IN BLUE, how do I love thee?

Hungry Ghosts - The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble

The program is three acts, Yonder Blue, Hungry Ghosts, and Hummingbird. I’ve seldom seen three ballets more dissimilar, yet each in its own unique way uplifted and harmonized with the other two to compose a perfectly unified program. Wowie.  

I’m going to snatch this opportunity to thank Artistic Director Ashley Wheater, CEO Greg Cameron, and anyone else who played a part in re-homing Joffrey Ballet at the Civic Opera House. I’ve been seeing and loving shows at the Auditorium Theatre since the early 1970’s, and it’s still a magnificent venue. I, however, have gone a bit to seed over the years, and find the Aud just a leeetle bit challenging to navigate. COH is far more user-friendly now I’m no longer quite so spry. Thank you!  

Yonder Blue was choreographed by Andrew McNicol, premiering in 2019. Yonder Blue’s music was composed by Peter Gregson, performed by the Lyric Opera Orchestra, directed and conducted by Scott Speck. It was delightful, joyful and vivacious but without straying into cloying or syrupy. McNichol reminds us that ‘yonder’ is a word that wobbles, tangible yet hard to grasp.  Yonder implies distance – from here to there – yet it remains imaginary, as once you reach ‘there’ it becomes ‘here’, and ‘yonder’ again withdraws. Jack Mehler (Scenic and Lighting Designer), captures this from the opening curtain – the dancers are silhouetted against a misty sky of blues which is slowly covered by a solid backdrop, creating the illusion of the horizon receding into the distance 'over yonder' as we are drawn deeper into the piece. 

We feel that shifting sense of space and place through both McNicol's choreography and the exquisite execution of the dancers. At one moment their movements are creaky, fractured, straining, and the next they float weightlessly through impossible lifts. If you know me, you’ll know I’m very partial to boy-on-boy dance; McNicol did one better for me with a perfectly splendid pas de trois featuring Jonathan Dole, Alberto Velazquez and José Pablo Castro Cuevas.  

‘Blue’ is another mercurial word, referring now to nature, now to human qualities and even emotions, from ‘feeling blue’ to bawdy ‘blue humor’. Yonder Blue encapsulates these many and disparate associations. The piece ebbs and flows, including an extended full-ensemble unison section which builds from a simple start of stationary forms to a full-stage cascade of whirling exuberance. 

An aside here: reading the program, I was marveling at the company’s diversity:  from Cincinnati to Jacksonville, Indiana to Utah, from Cuba, Japan, China, Estonia, Brazil, Russia, Australia. This diversity was visually evident during Yonder Blue, exposing all that winter-white skin!   

I was excitedly anticipating Hungry Ghosts, choreographed by Stina Quagebeur, as this is the first performance art I’ve attended that is inspired by ‘one of the most seismic human tragedies of modern times’: America’s opioid epidemic. See, opioid addiction is my thing – for 35 years I’ve been an addiction psychiatrist working on the streets with needle exchange programs and other outreach to the human beings ravaged by this unspeakable disease. Unspeakable indeed – there is no advocacy for addicts, and a death toll exceeding 100,000 annually elicits much editorial handwringing but virtually no direct action: jail is still, by several orders of magnitude, the standard (affordable/available/accessible) treatment for addiction.

Sorry, I just couldn’t hold that in. I’ll step down from my soapbox and return to Quagebeur’s far more eloquent litany. Her fittingly titled Hungry Ghosts has it all:  hope and longing, failure and despair, ambivalence and impotent rage and resignation. The disease is embodied by Anais Bueno and Hyuma Kiyosawa in a running pas de deux while the company animates the course of the disease: the swoop to dizzying heights and the inevitable plummet into the Slough of Despond. Jack Mehler’s brilliant Scenic and Lighting Design made ingenious use of vertical scrim panels to portray the addict’s isolation, the urgent necessity but lack of community; hunger and destitution and craving and loathing … all so poignantly expressed by Quagebeur’s choreography and the dancers’ mastery. 

Jeremy Birchall’s music was absolute perfection: alternately discordant and mellifluous; simultaneously strident and harmonic. I trust I’m not trespassing when I say that clearly neither Quagebeur nor Birchall learned about addiction by reading about it in a book – their intimate sophistication can only be gained the hard way. Thus, Quagebeur doesn’t succumb to the banal platitude of wrapping it all up with a pretty bow; rather, the ending reflects the ambivalence and uncertainty of the disease itself; death is the sole unequivocal outcome.  I was leaking tears by the end and was so glad for the standing ovation Quagebeur received for this world premiere performance – may her work advance to stages worldwide!

I was grateful for the intermission as I definitely needed time to recover after Hungry Ghosts, and my ballet buddy and I agreed to be underwhelmed by the final ballet, Hummingbird. I guess Hungry Ghosts rattled us enough to forget the cardinal rule: the Joffrey Ballet never disappoints.

Hummingbird - The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble

Liam Scarlett choreographed Hummingbird, and Lauren Strongin staged it a bit differently to the first two offerings. While Jack Mehler was Scenic and Lighting Designer for both Yonder Blue and Hungry Ghosts, David Finn’s lighting and John MacFarlane’s Scenic and Costume Design imparted a very different tableau for Hummingbird. Check out the photo – your eyes are not deceiving you; the stage truly is tilted up sharply at the rear, creating unique entrances and exits against the abstract backdrop.

Philip Glass’ music animates nine couples, in pas de deux and in company, into choreographed movement that comes from deep within: “Like an earthquake epicenter it ripples out… It has a human quality because it’s using everything you have.” Scarlett plays with our expectations – like an actor breaking the fourth wall with an aside to camera, he 'breaks' the dancers into unexpected movement. The ensemble entering with gracefully pointed limbs, only to crouch into a quick, flat-footed run-in-place garnered quite a few chuckles. Ending a fraught and emotional pas de deux with the dancers bent over and gasping for breath rather than perfectly poised added an emotional punch of realism.

I mentioned at the outset how these three pieces harmonized with each other - the treatment of the pas de deux by each piece offers a prime example. In Yonder Blue it was thematic, in Hungry Ghosts, narrative. In Hummingbird, the pas de duex sits somewhere in between - evocative, intertwining, and emotional as they thread their way in and out and around and through the ripples of movement around them.

Joffrey Ballet will perform STUDIES IN BLUE until February 25 on Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings, and matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday, so you have no excuse to miss it! 

JOFFREY BALLET STUDIES IN BLUE at the Civic Opera House through February 25

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Review by Sarz Maxwell with thanks for assistance from Eva Hare

I really enjoyed this unique program of ballet created and choreographed by Dwight Rhoden (formerly of Alvin Ailey) and Desmond Richardson and performed by Complexions Contemporary Ballet company that features an interesting combination of the music of Johann Sebastian and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach along with the prolific rock icon, David Bowie. The choice to use music of classical composers, Bach, Vivaldi and Beethoven for the first half of this program before diving into the wonderful music of David Bowie was interesting and effective. 

At the sold out, one night only Chicago performance of ‘Stardust: From Back to Bowie’ at Auditorium Theatre, the audience seemed anxious to absorb the quality of this highly trained company's talents while waiting for the David Bowie portion of the show to begin.

I have to say that David Bowie's music was a perfect choice for this beautiful and rare company to perform as they chose to cast many wonderful dancers of all races, genders and sizes, which was refreshing to see rather than the more traditional ballet productions that feature dancers of virtually the same structured dimensions. This marvelously diverse company danced with precision, grace and a high-level of artistry and it was just a pleasure to watch them in action.

I’ll admit I was mostly drawn to see this production because of the use of David Bowie's music, so the second half of the show that featured exquisitely executed dancing to the compositions from the man behind Ziggy Stardust really resonated with me. Bowie’s complex, expansive, modern, and often gender-bending music was a seamless match made in Heaven with these exiting dancers and choreography.

It was in the Bowie portion of the performance that, to me, the dancers all seemed to really come alive, including their facial expressiveness, as some were allowed to or chose to lip sync during their interpretive solos, with each dancer taking turns playing the Bowie lead role. The moment Bowie’s music hit the audience’s ears is when the show really burst into life.

Although the classical, Bach-driven first half of the program was well done, the excitement, DRAMA and exquisite storytelling of the Bowie segment begs the question, why aren't more high-quality ballet dance companies using Bowie's music and/or other modern popular musician’s music to dance to? Bowie’s portion of the show was absolutely inspirational. I saw many child dancers in the audience and could tell they were encouraged and inspired by the use of male and female leads to portray Bowie himself. 

I highly recommend this beautiful and astonishing production by a very unique and well-trained company for audiences of all ages. 

There is something bittersweet of a one-time performance. The single moment in time displaying artistic excellence, be it music, dance, or art, retreats as quickly as it appears. The audience is often left reeling and wrestling with their emotions, reflecting on the performance, and recalling the beautiful moments they witnessed, as if trying to convert the fleetingness of the art to memory and make sense of their emotions. There is no better venue in all of Chicagoland suited to those brief artistic moments than Ravinia. 

This June, Ravinia was the backdrop for the Ruth Page Civic Ballet and Friends showcase featuring four talented dance companies (Ruth Page Civic Ballet, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Hedwig Dances, and Jumaane Taylor) performing classical and contemporary dance pieces that explored human nature and our emotions. More notably, the companies featured trainees of the dance companies, young burgeoning Chicago talent looking to launch their careers as professional dancers. Many of the young artists had offers in hand to prestigious programs and companies around the country with many more offers hopefully to follow.  

The showcase featured eight beautiful pieces roughly ten to twenty minutes in length. Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s piece “Aisantnaf” featuring Ahmad Hill was a standout performance with intricate lighting highlighting the dancer’s body and movement in intricate detail, making the slow burning performance entrancing to watch. Hedwig Dances featured a single contemporary piece “Syzygy” featuring H. Meneses, Rigo Suara, and Paula Sousa that explored the power of three as both humans and something more cellular. The piece had an odd track that made it almost uncomfortable to watch and the musical accompaniment played almost too loud, distracting from the interlacing of the dancers on the stage. It would be worth a second watch and a possible track change to see the piece performed again. 

The absolute crowd favorite of the showcase was Jumaane Taylor and Kayana Latimer of Jumaane Taylor and Stone Soup Rhythms performing “Cheap Suites 1-5.” The tap dancers play in these five short lived rhythmic minutes-long wonders, scratching deep into the floor until they decide to "check-out." The ensemble taps into a determination to morph the strategi rthymic patterns of Karriem Riggins (Detroit master drummer and producer), using detailed tap steps to particularly collaborate with these intrumental vibrations. The tap number was high energy and showcased the incredible skill, speed, and mastery the craft requires. Each small tap or pounding step resonated with the stage and the music in perfect lock step. It brought a smile to every face in the audience and was a difficult act to follow within the showcase.

In every showcase there is one performance that leaves you wanting more. For me it was a Ruth Page piece. While “Pasajera La Lluvia” featuring Kaelen Gouveia and Oscar Uribe Zapata was a beautiful contemporary piece, the standout was the finale performance of “Abscission” by Adrián Marcelo Sáenz. The number featured all the Ruth Page trainees within their ballet company; Keely Clark, Kaelen Gouveia, Hannah Gonzalez, Mian Hirasawa, Alicia Rene Kenefic, and Oscar Uribe Zapata. The contemporary performance was an exploration of the most intimate and dark places of ourselves; a self-imposed chain, a toxic past, a double edged decision, are we free or lost without them? It was an intimate, technical, and passionate performance by all the dancers and truly was a culmination of their years of hard work and talent. The entire piece could be expanded on to be a standalone show.

While a single performance can leave one bittersweet, it can also be the culmination of years of training displaying the years of hard work and talent put into the artform. The young talent on display at Ravinia for Ruth Page Civic Ballet and Friends was beautiful in its fleetingness. Chicago and Ravinia should expect to see these talented artists soon as they embark on the next chapters of their careers. To learn more about the Ruth Page Center of the Arts’ programs and initiatives, please visit www.ruthpage.org. To view Ravinia’s 2023 and lineup and purchase tickets visit www.ravinia.org.

The month of December means one thing for ballet companies across the country: The Nutcracker. To audiences, this holiday classic brings the classic story of Clara and her Nutcracker Prince coming to life and journeying to the land of sweets. For young dancers, however, The Nutcracker is a culmination and celebration of a year of hard work; hours of work in the studio, rounds of auditions, and weeks of preparation, ending in a handful of performances amidst the glittering lights of the stage. For the Ruth Page Center for the Arts dancers, their company shined bright as they performed the holiday favorite on the NEIU stage, kicking off the holiday season with bright and burgeoning talent.

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is a Chicago ballet company developing great artists and connects them with audiences and the community.  With a primary focus on dance as a necessary art form, its programming ensures that children and dance artists have a place to train, work and perform at the highest level of excellence. This year's performance of the Nutcracker was a full-length production choreographed by Ruth Page herself and featured the elite Ruth Page Civic Ballet Training Company along with international guest artists.

Growing up I spent most of December in the wings, watching our prima ballerinas dance The Arabian Coffee, The Mirliton, and The Waltz of the Flowers, but this December I sat next to an excited grandfather who whispered feverishly when his granddaughter took the stage as a young BonBon with Mother Ginger. His pride and excitement watching her dance was magical, and more wholesome and heartwarming than I’ve ever felt during a professional performance. The youngest dancers in the company performed as young soldiers battling with The Nutcracker against the Mouse King, while some of the elite and guest artists performed as the Sugar Plum Fairy, the thrilling Russian dance, and Spanish Hot Chocolate. The corp supported each number well with effortless performances throughout the two acts. Dancers of all ages, races, and sizes were represented in this production and audiences whooped, cheered, and applauded loudly and proudly for their stars.  I can only imagine what my own mother felt when she watched me perform when I was younger. 

Ballet is one of the hardest arts, not only for the dancer physically and mentally but also for family budgets and time commitments. The thousands of dollars a year for premier training are daunting and dancers now need to commit young to develop the requisite skills the art demands. It can be taxing on the dancer and the family for different reasons. But in the end, The Nutcracker is a challenging ballet to put on stage with planning often beginning mid-year and dancing roles auditioned in early fall. Foundational training continues with the addition of extra rehearsals to learn and understudy The Nutcracker roles. By the end of November, ballet members and staff are exhausted. But as the holiday season ushers in, and the final dress rehearsals wrap, the company takes to the stage and all the hard work, sacrifice, and dedication to this craft is brought center stage.

There are always options to see incredible companies such as The Joffrey perform this classic, but nothing brought about the holiday spirit more than the young artists of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Make it a part of your holiday tradition in the future to support this charming company. Now, more than ever, we owe it to our youth, to the arts, and to the ballet, to shine back the light they bring to us each holiday season. Here’s wishing The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, their dancers, and you and yours, a most magical holiday season.

For more information on the Ruth Page Center for The Arts and tickets to upcoming performances, including their Grayslake Dec 17th performance of The Nutcracker, visit http://www.ruthpage.org/.

For the past two-plus years, I’d dreamed of doing all the things in Chicago that were shut down due to the pandemic. When restrictions were lifted and entertainment started to come back to the city, I was determined to say yes to every unique city experience. By far the most Chicago heavy hitting art came with the Joffrey ballet performing Don Quixote with the Lyric Opera.

Don Quixote is a ballet following the adventures of an aging knight-errant who reads epic tales of chivalry and romance, and seeks out on an adventure to revive chivalry and serve his nation, under the name Don Quixote de la Mancha. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, and together they travelin search of love and adventure. While Don Quixote is the focus on the ballet, the central theme is a love story; Kitri is the ballet’s feisty and wilful heroine of the ballet. When her father Lorenzo tries to marry her off for money, she doesn't play the victim, but hatches a plan to marry Basilio, the charming barber who has won her heart, and pursue her own version of happiness. It is Don Quixote who stumbles into town, sees what is transpiring and intervenes in the name of chivalry and true love.

The Joffrey principle dancers and ensemble company brought the Spanish classic to life, dancing with all the grace, talent, and poise ballet dancers can possess. Their energy was unparalleled as they leapt and twirled around the stage. The casting was perfection in Victoria Jaiani at Kitri and Dylan Guitierrez as Basilio; notably the Joffrey has a rotation of principle dancers to play the ballet’s leads, offering patrons a unique flare each performance. Set against elaborate and immersive set designs, and accompanied by a live orchestra, Don Quixote was a visual and unexpected wonder. 

The visual and auditory spendlor of the ballet was only surpassed by being in such a historic venue as the Lyric Opera. Here I was, watching some of the nation’s best dancers, perform with a world renowned orchestra, sitting comfortably in a historic Chicago landmark; post pandemic I am grateful for the chance to see such a performance and that others have the opportunity to experience this as well. Thanks to the artistic group’s mask precautions and vaccination card screenings at the door, these performances can continue to bring beauty and light into an increasingly darker world. No matter how bleak the days might seem, The Joffrey helps to remind us that there is still grace and beauty in the world to be experienced, and we must leap at the artistic opportunities when they come our way the way Don Quixote leapt at adventure.

Don Quixote runs through June 12th at the Lyric Opera House at 20 N Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago. Tickets are available at Joffrey.org.

Each season Joffrey Ballet Company presents a show comprised of works of various influential artists; this winter’s repertoire is a worldly combination of five works by four contemporary choreographers: British-born Christopher Wheeldon’s Commedia, Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili’s Mono Lisa and The Sofa, Chicago’s Stephanie Martinez’ Bliss!, and Chicago premiere of Justin Peck’s The Times Are Racing.

Opening the performance is Commedia (created in 2008), which takes us to the French-influenced 1920’s world of dance. For this piece, Christopher Wheeldon drew inspiration from Igor Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella Suite”, which was originally composed in 1920 for a ballet featuring harlequin costumes by Pablo Picasso. Commedia is the longest piece of the evening, with several scenes set to the beautiful, albeit occasionally disturbing, Stravinsky’s music. It starts out with a group dance (Sinfonia) which sets the tone for a gorgeously expressive and athletic ballet. Dancers are wearing very Picasso-ish black and white harlequinade costumes designed by Isabel Toledo, which also bring out the whimsical nature of Wheeldon’s choreography. This ballet is mesmerizing in its entirety. Pas des deux dances (such as Serenata by Brooke Linford and Yoshihisa Arai, and Gavotta by Gayeon Jung and Edson Barbosa) all have some hypnotic fluidity that takes one’s breath away. The ballet’s highly creative choreography is only matched by Joffrey dancers’ exquisite skills, resulting in a piece that is simply stunning.

After the first intermission, the next three pieces are united by a common theme of modern courtship. Mono Lisa and The Sofa, both choreographed by Itzik Galili, playfully explore the nature of romantic relationships. Mono Lisa, created in 2003, features the fabulous Victoria Jaiani and Stefan Goncalvez. He likes the girl; she plays hard to get – the old game of cat and mouse. Percussive sounds of an old typewriter set to a cool bit (original music by Itzik Galili and Thomas Hofs) create intensity, as in some futuristic tribal music.  Completed by the dancers’ precise moves and skilled acrobatics, Mono Lisa is decisively void of any romantic quality. This is further enhanced by the set design consisting of steel frames and bright lights.

 Galili’s second piece of the evening, The Sofa, has certain elements of a pantomime. The sofa on the stage becomes piece de resistance, where the couple fights for space and independence. The boy is a little aggressive towards his girl, but then he gets a taste of his own medicine in a comical gender-reversal twist half-way through the dance. Danced by Temur Suluashvili, Anna Gerberich and Fernando Duarte, it’s a fun and highly energetic piece set to music by Grammy Award-winner Tom Waits.

Included in the program is Chicago choreographer Stephanie Martinez’ ballet The Bliss! which she created for the Joffrey Ballet Company as a part of an Igor Stravinsky evening. For this piece, Martinez was inspired by Mildred and Robert Bliss who commissioned Stravinsky to compose Dumbarton Oak Concerto for their 30^th wedding anniversary. On stage there’re six handsome topless male dancers, possibly looking for a testosterone-fueled action. A pretty girl enters and a scene out of Michael Jackson’s video “The Way You Make Me Feel” immediately comes to mind. It’s a mating game, no doubt, full of flirt and seduction. A beautiful as well as an interesting piece whose many different flavors and textures develop as it moves through Stravinsky’s music.

The program concludes with The Times Are Racing, Justin Peck’s so called “sneaker ballet” for 20 dancers. Dancers wearing street clothes (costumes by Humberto Leon) including shirts with word-messages such as “defy”, “change”, “protest”, “shout”, and “fight”, move with purpose and grace. Set to the last four tracks of Dan Deacon’s album America, it’s a very youthful and explosive ballet, which draws its inspiration from a variety of dance styles. Featuring an incredibly expressive dancer Edson Barbosa, as a boy lost in the city, exploring and seeking, trying to learn and ultimately fit in.  

Through February 23rd

http://joffrey.org/

All apologies to the teachers and professors who groomed me to be a ceaseless reader and sporadic writer — I never finished Anna Karenina. But while I never plowed through all 900 pages of Tolstoy’s novel, moments from the book have stayed with me. One of them is just a line, one seemingly effortless line among pages full of them, and what a line it is: “All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.”

As I reflect on the variety, the charm, and the beauty I was privileged to behold at the Joffrey Ballet’s world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s production of his countryman’s classic, I realize I witnessed a whole world of light and shadow being created right there on the Auditorium Theatre’s stage.

The creation of that entire world was, most obviously, performed by Possokhov’s choreography carried out by the Joffrey’s outstanding company, of course. Victoria Jaiani’s Anna navigates said world in both light and shadow — beautiful but damaged, faced with reality but delirious. Her husband Karenin, towers over the stage, as portrayed by the magnificent Fabrice Calmels, as a stately, stern husband and father and statesman. Just as stately, while also boyish and beautiful, Alberto Velazquez’s Vronsky lures the audience just as he lures poor Anna. And parallel to the love triangle and tragedy that envelope those three is the love story between Yoshihisa Arai’s Levin and Anais Bueno’s Kitty. If the former affair gives us the shadow, then the latter relationship brings it into the light.

These lights and shadows do not flicker before us thanks solely to the dancers, however. No, the spectacle of sight and sound beyond the dancing are every bit as stunning. Tom Pye’s sets and David Finn’s lighting navigates from dusky railyards to sunny Tuscany, from opium dreams to canapé flings. Of the many delights dished out by the Joffrey’s Nutcracker, perhaps my favorite was its use of projections, and Finn Ross’ projections for 'Anna Karenina' equal those, coloring the story and conjuring spirits.

But from curtain to curtain, the visual thrills are always complemented and often eclipsed by Ilya Demutsky’s original score directed by Scott Speck. The Chicago Philharmonic’s accompaniment, shifting seamlessly from elegance to dissonance, while always both classic and contemporary, is joined by Lindsay Metzger’s mezzo-soprano — who literally joins the show by the end — to craft this world of light and shadow in multiple dimensions that quicken multiple sensations.

So join the Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre for Anna Karenina through February 24, as all of these world-class talents work together to shade and illuminate, to craft and create the variety and the charm and the beauty one would expect from a hefty literary classic written a century-and-a-half ago and half a world away.