The Joffrey Ballet

March 24, 2005 — The Joffrey Ballet will conclude its

2004-2005 Season with Accent Arpino, showcasing four

signature works of The Joffrey Ballet choreographed by the

company’s Founder and Artistic Director, Gerald Arpino:

Viva Vivaldi (1965); Round of Angels (1983); Confetti

(1970); and The Clowns (1968). Accent Arpino will be

performed April 27 – May 8, 2005 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, Leslie B. Dunner.

“As we approach the 50th Anniversary of The Joffrey

Ballet, I have chosen to present four works of mine that

accent the versatility of our dancers and highlight the

unique range of The Joffrey,” said Gerald Arpino. “From

bravura technique to drama, from lyricism to social

commentary, our artists can do it all.”

Gerald Arpino was born in Staten Island, New York, and

received early dance training in Seattle by Mary Ann Wells.

He co-founded The Joffrey Ballet with Robert Joffrey in 1956

and served as Associate Director for many years. Upon

Joffrey’s death in 1988, Arpino succeeded him as Artistic

Director. In 1995, he moved The Joffrey Ballet to Chicago.

A leading dancer with the company in its early years,

Gerald Arpino choreographed his first work for The Joffrey

Ballet, Ropes, in 1961. Shortly thereafter, he became The

Joffrey Ballet’s resident choreographer and, to date, has

created more than one-third of the company’s repertoire.

His amazingly diverse work ranges from social commentary to

pure dance gems. His ballets are in the repertoires of

companies around the world.

Viva Vivaldi premiered in 1965 and was the signature

Joffrey Ballet work that opened and closed every season

until 1970. Gerald Arpino choreographed the ballet to

Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in D-Major for Violin, Strings

and Cembalo, Pincherle 151 and later re-orchestrated the

piece to feature a solo violinist and guitarist with a

Spanish accent. Containing lyric romanticism, great wit and

technical bravura, Viva Vivaldi has become a staple piece in

The Joffrey Ballet repertoire.

Round of Angels was inspired in part by an etching

entitled, “Ronde d’Anges,” by Cavaliere d’Arpino and is a

soaring dance elegy set to the haunting Adagietto from

Mahler’s Fifth Symphony for strings. The emotional ballet

set against a starry sky, features a couple, destined to

part, surrounded by five male angels. Round of Angels

premiered in 1983 and is dedicated to the memory of James R.

Howell, a member of The Joffrey Ballet, life-long friend and

an artistic associate.

Confetti takes its inspiration from the buoyant and

exuberant music of Gioacchino Rossini’s “Semiramide”

Overture. Gerald Arpino created a classical pas de six that

is at the same time a frolicsome, frothy romp in the spirit

of the tarantella, including ribboned tambourines. The six

dancers are presented with a dazzling challenge of

displaying both technical virtuosity and speed.

When Gerald Arpino’s The Clowns premiered in 1968, it was

hailed as a groundbreaking masterpiece – a contemporary

parable of human survival in the face of nuclear holocaust.

The ballet explores the comedies and tragedies of human

existence and the ever-recurring cycles of destruction and

rebirth. Technology is introduced in the form of plastic

sculptures and balloons. Plastic society is epitomized and

the theme of man against his environment is sounded. The

theme of technology gone awry is also prevalent in Hershey

Kay’s musical score, which uses the 12–tone, serial form,

combining orchestral music with electronic sound

effects.

The performance schedule for The Joffrey Ballet

presentation of Accent Arpino, April 27 – May 8, 2005, is as

follows: Wednesday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April

29, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 30, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.;

Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m.; Friday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m.;

Saturday, May 7, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 8, at 2

p.m.

Tickets, priced from $15 to $100, 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 Joffrey Ballet extends special thanks to its

2004-2005 Season Sponsor, the Abbott Laboratories Fund and

the Production Sponsor for Round of Angels, the NIB

Foundation. Live music for the 2004-2005 Season is

underwritten in part by The Joyce Foundation, the Julius

Frankel Foundation, the Searle Funds at the Chicago

Community Trust, 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 National Endowment for

the Arts, 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 2005-2006 Joffrey Ballet Season, or to

inquire about senior and children’s tickets, please call 312-739-0120 or

visit www.joffrey.com.

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