COMPANY
The Company’s year in bold moves:
41 DANCERS
4
WORLD PREMIERES
5
CHICAGO PREMIERES
77
PERFORMANCES IN CHICAGO AND FIVE CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
We staged daring performances in Chicago and beyond. In October, we opened our season with the American premiere of Sylvia, John Neumeier’s reimagining of classical mythology for the 21st century. Our dancers performed this colorful and abstract work with a dramatic expressiveness the New York Times praised as “rare in American ballet.” In April, we took this daring spirit to Cleveland for Bartok on Stage: two Yuri Possokhov world premieres with the Cleveland Orchestra that could not get “much more gripping, or more darkly beautiful” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer).
We made space for new perspectives. Our two repertory programs—September’s Millennials and February’s Bold Moves—took audiences across the full spectrum of contemporary ballet, with a diverse set of voices speaking to our emotions in the face of constant change and renewal, the forces that pull us apart, and the human desire for beauty and strength.
We brought the spirit of our past into the work that will define our future. Twenty-eight years after its debut, Robert Joffrey’s beloved Nutcracker closed to full houses and rapturous audiences, breaking all previous ticket records. And as we closed out our season in May, ready to usher in a new era for the Joffrey, we honored our founder’s legacy with one of his favorite ballets: Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, a classic perfectly suited to the dramatic and artistic range of the 41-member ballet company that bears his name.
19
PERCENT INCREASE IN TICKET SALES OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS
THE JOFFREY BALLET | ANNUAL REPORT 2015 –2016 | 5