The Joffrey Ballet

January 31, 2005 — The Joffrey Ballet will salute three

legendary choreographers of the 20th century – George

Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor – and showcase

a trio of their masterpieces in a Winter Program entitled

American Masterworks. This sophisticated program features

Balanchine’s Square Dance, a ballet that whimsically melds

classical movement with folk dance; Robbins’ N.Y. Export:

Opus Jazz, an energetic piece paying tribute to the hip

youth of the 1950s; and the Joffrey premiere of Tudor’s Dark

Elegies, said to be his greatest work and exemplifying the

depth of human emotion through abstract movement. The

Joffrey Ballet will present American Masterworks in nine

performances only, March 9-20, at the Auditorium Theatre of

Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway. Live

orchestral accompaniment will be provided by the Chicago

Sinfonietta (the official orchestra of The Joffrey Ballet),

under the baton of The Joffrey’s Music Director and

Principal Conductor, Dr. Leslie B. Dunner.

“This program

pays tribute to three great American choreographers, each

with a unique Joffrey relationship. The company greatly

benefited from a close relationship with Balanchine during

the company’s early years. Balanchine gave The Joffrey many

of his ballets, and donated sets, costumes and even coaching

on several occasions,” said Gerald Arpino, founder and

artistic director of The Joffrey Ballet. “In addition, The

Joffrey was the first company that Jerome Robbins set N.Y.

Export: Opus Jazz on after he premiered it with Ballets

USA.”

Of George Balanchine’s masterpieces, The Joffrey will

showcase Square Dance (1957). Fiddlers will play excerpts

from Archangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi as the dancers

perform dazzling classical ballet to the shout of an

on-stage caller. Imbued with intricate footwork and

eye-catching patterns, Square Dance is an exceptional

example of Balanchine’s artistry and genius.

Born in St.

Petersburg, Russia, Balanchine (1904-1983) is recognized as

the world’s foremost contemporary choreographer. At only

nine years old, he was accepted into the ballet section of

St. Petersburg’s rigorous Imperial Theater School and was

soon appearing on the stage of the famed Maryinsky Theater.

He graduated with honors in 1921 and joined the corps de

ballet of the Maryinsky. From 1924 to 1929, Balanchine was

ballet master for Diaghilev’s Les Ballets Russes where he

staged the classics, Apollo and Prodigal Son. He was the

last principal choreographer under Diaghilev until 1933

when, at age 29, he was sponsored by a young American arts

patron, Lincoln Kirstein, to come to the United States and

create an American ballet company. Together they founded the

School of American Ballet in 1934, which became the New York

City Ballet in 1948. From that time, Balanchine served as

the company’s ballet master and principal choreographer

until his death in 1983.

From the legendary Broadway

choreographer of the 20th century, The Joffrey will present

Jerome Robbins’ N.Y Export: Opus Jazz (1958). This piece is

similar in genre to West Side Story, which Robbins

choreographed in 1957. Scored by Robert Prince, with sets

created by celebrated artist Ben Shahn, N.Y. Export: Opus

Jazz exudes the “cool” jazz music and movements of the

1950’s era.

Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) was born in New York

City, but received world renown as a choreographer of

ballets created for the New York City Ballet, Ballets

U.S.A., American Ballet Theatre, and other international

companies. His exceptional career began in 1940 when he

became a member of American Ballet Theatre’s corps de

ballet, and among his many mentors was Antony Tudor. In

1949, Robbins joined the New York City Ballet as a dancer

and associate artistic director, working under the direction

of George Balanchine. Robbins left New York City Ballet to

form his own company, Ballets U.S.A. in 1958. During this

time he created N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, which premiered in

1958 at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy and

became a hit in Europe and in New York City. Throughout his

career, Robbins also received acclaim for his work as a

director of Broadway musicals and plays, movies and

television programs.

In its company premiere, The Joffrey

will present Dark Elegies (1939) by Antony Tudor, one of the

most enigmatic choreographers of the 20th century. Dark

Elegies is accompanied by Gustav Mahler’s haunting

composition “Kindertotenlieder,” which is sung by a

baritone. The straightforward literal movement depicts the

grief of village peasants over the death of a child.

The British-born Tudor (1908-1987) was known as the “king of

psychological dance-drama.” A prolific dancer-choreographer

for London’s Ballet Rambert, in 1939, Tudor was invited by

Agnes DeMille to join the first season of New York’s Dance

Theatre, now known as the American Ballet Theatre. Since

joining, Tudor’s works have been represented in every

American Ballet Theatre season, and he was named

Choreographer Emeritus of ABT in 1980.

The performance

schedule for The Joffrey Ballet presentation of American

Masterworks, March 9-20, 2005, is as follows: Wednesday,

March 9, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m.;

Saturday, March 12, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 13, at

2 p.m.; Friday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 19,

at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 20, at 2 p.m.

Tickets, priced from $15, are now on sale at the Auditorium

Theatre of Roosevelt University box office, all Ticketmaster

Ticket Centers, by telephone at (312) 902-1500, or online at

www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more should call

(312) 386-8899. There will be special $15 college

and graduate student “rush” tickets available an hour before

curtain for any remaining tickets. Students will need to

show a current ID.

The final program on the 2004-2005 Joffrey Ballet season

will be Accent Arpino, showcasing four signature works of

The Joffrey choreographed by the company’s founder and

artistic director, Gerald Arpino, April 27 – May 8, 2005.

The Joffrey Ballet extends special thanks to its 2004-2005

Season Sponsor, the Abbott Laboratories Fund. Additional

support for American Masterworks is provided by The

National Endowment for the Arts. Live music for the

2004-2005 Season is underwritten in part by The Joyce

Foundation, the Julius Frankel Foundation, the Elizabeth F.

Cheney Foundation and the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice

Foundation. The 2004-2005 Season is also supported by

grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the CityArts

Program of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.

Special thanks to LaSalle Bank, Saturday Family Matinee

Sponsor, and American Airlines, the Official Airline Sponsor

of The Joffrey Ballet.

For more information on The Joffrey

Ballet and its 2004-2005 Season, please visit

www.joffrey.com or call 312.739.0120.

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