The Joffrey Ballet

January 11, 2006 – The Joffrey Ballet continues its 50th Anniversary

Season with John Cranko’s spellbinding, full evening ballet, Romeo

and Juliet, featuring the rich score by Sergei Prokofiev.

The Joffrey Ballet will present Romeo and Juliet

in nine performances only, February 15 – 26, 2006,

at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway.

For the third season, 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. LaSalle Bank is the Program Sponsor for Romeo

and Juliet.

Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet is one

of The Joffrey Ballet’s most romantic and sumptuous productions, capturing

every detail of the play from its regal masked ball to the harsh clang

of mortal swordplay. Based on Shakespeare’s famous and tragic tale of

two teenage lovers in Renaissance Italy who find themselves caught between

their feuding families, Cranko’s vividly etched characters, breathtaking

choreography and unforgettable pageantry bring this tragedy to splendid

life. The magnificent original Jürgen Rose sets and costumes enhance

the action of the ballet while complementing the choreography.

This production of Romeo and Juliet, in three

acts, received its World Premiere by Cranko’s Stuttgart Ballet company

in December 1962. In 1984, The Joffrey Ballet became the first American

company to present Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet,

thus adding the crown jewel to the largest Cranko repertoire of any

company outside the Stuttgart Ballet.

The late South African choreographer John Cranko brought worldwide

acclaim to the Stuttgart with his witty, original ballets. He is considered

one of 20th Century ballet’s master story-tellers.

The Joffrey Ballet production of Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet

was originally staged in 1984 by Georgette Tsinguirides, Ballet Mistress

of the Stuttgart Ballet and member of the original cast. Tsinguirides

has set Cranko’s ballets for more than 30 companies around the world.

She has staged seven of Cranko’s works for The Joffrey Ballet including

The Taming of the Shrew last seen in the fall of 2002.

The performance schedule for The Joffrey Ballet presentation of Romeo

and Juliet, February 15 – 26, 2006, is as follows: Wednesday,

February 15, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, February 17, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday,

February 18, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, February 19, at 2 p.m.; Friday,

February 24, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, February 25, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.;

and Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m.

Tickets, priced from $15 to $125, are now on sale at the Auditorium

Theatre of Roosevelt University box office, all Ticketmaster Ticket

Centers and Broadway in Chicago locations, by telephone at (312) 902-1500,

or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of 10 or more should

call (312) 739-0120, ext. 1037. 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 50th Anniversary Season will continue with Cool Vibrations,

showcasing three exciting works set to contemporary music: Deuce

Coupe (1973) featuring choreography by Twyla Tharp with music by

The Beach Boys; the World Premiere of a new work by Donald Byrd set

to Motown hits; and crowd favorite, Laura Dean’s Sometimes It Snows

in April, from The Joffrey’s Billboards (1993), its full

evening of ballet set to the music of Prince, April 26 – May 7, 2006.

The Joffrey Ballet extends special thanks to its 2005-2006 Season Sponsors,

the Abbott Fund and Huron Consulting Group; A Midsummer

Night’s Dream Program Sponsor, Chase; the Production Sponsors

for Celebration the NIB Foundation, and Sidney L. Port; The

Nutcracker Program Sponsors Exelon, proud parent of ComEd,

and Northern Trust; Romeo and Juliet Program

Sponsor, LaSalle Bank and the Production Sponsor the NIB Foundation;

Cool Vibrations Program Sponsor Motorola;

and the Production Sponsors for Deuce Coupe are Mary &

Saul Sanders, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Production

Sponsors for Donald Byrd’s new work, the NIB Foundation and the National

Endowment for the Arts; and the Production Sponsor for Sometimes

it Snows in April, the Sara Lee Foundation. Live music for the

2005-2006 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 2005-2006 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 American

Airlines, the Official Airline of The Joffrey Ballet.

For more information on the 2005-2006 Joffrey Ballet Season please

call (312) 386-8905 or visit www.joffrey.com.

# # #

Return to top