The Joffrey Ballet

May 25, 2006 – The Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet proudly announces the second half of its Golden Anniversary lineup, which spans two seasons from 2005 to 2007. The 2006-2007 Season will launch with the first-ever American production of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, October 4-15, 2006. Winter 2007 will bring Destiny’s Dances: Groundbreaking Ballets from the 20th Century, February 14 – February 25, 2007, featuring masterpieces from the early 20th Century including Leonide Massine’s Les Présages, George Balanchine’s Apollo, and The Green Table, created by the German expressionist choreographer Kurt Jooss. The 50th Anniversary Season will close with Light Rain, a crowd-pleasing, mixed-repertory program featuring six cutting-edge works from The Joffrey’s extensive repertoire, including Gerald Arpino’s work of the same name and his comic, battle-of-the-sexes “boxing match,” Valentine, as well as Pilobolus’ humorous Victorian-era inspired Untitled, David Parson’s gravity-defying Caught, and two aerial solos, Joanna Haigood’s Dance for Yal and Moses Pendleton and Cynthia Quinn’s White Widow, April 25 – May 6, 2007. The Joffrey will once again present the Chicago holiday tradition and family favorite, The Nutcracker, December 8-24, 2006.

The 2006-2007 Season is generously underwritten by Huron Consulting Group and Abbott Fund. The entire season, with the exception of Light Rain, will feature live orchestral accompaniment by the Chicago Sinfonietta under the baton of Joffrey Music Director and Principal Conductor Dr. Leslie B. Dunner. The Joffrey Ballet will perform in its home venue, the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, in downtown Chicago at 50 E. Congress Parkway.

“No one season would have been enough to commemorate all the aspects of The Joffrey Ballet’s extensive repertoire and history,” said Gerald Arpino, Joffrey Ballet Co-Founder and Artistic Director. “In this exciting 2006-2007 Season we continue to present works that highlight Robert Joffrey and my vision of dance.”

In the Fall of 2006, The Joffrey Ballet will become the first American company to present Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, which is widely considered one of the greatest ballets of this timeless fairy tale. The classic rags-to-riches story comes to life in a dazzling full-evening ballet set to Sergei Prokofiev’s brilliant score, composed specifically for the work. Originally created in December 1948 for England’s Royal Ballet with breathtaking sets and costumes designed by David Walker, the traditional story of Cinderella is performed in three acts in just two hours. Cinderella will be performed by The Joffrey Ballet October 4 – 15, 2006.

“This production of Cinderella was Robert Joffrey’s final wish for the company so we pay tribute to him by presenting it,” said Gerald Arpino.

Chicagoland’s most popular family holiday entertainment, Robert Joffrey’s production of The Nutcracker, returns to the Auditorium Theatre December 8 – 27, 2006. As always, the Tchaikovsky masterpiece features the full Joffrey company, augmented by local children’s choruses and more than 120 young dancers ages nine through fourteen.

The Joffrey Ballet will continue its mission to preserve and reconstruct masterpieces from the early 20th Century, with the presentation of Destiny’s Dances: Groundbreaking Ballets from the 20th Century in the winter of 2007. The program will feature three ballets by renowned and groundbreaking choreographers and artists that helped redefine ballet, including Leonide Massine’s Les Présages, the first ballet set to a complete symphony (Tchaikovsky’s 5th); Apollo, George Balanchine’s 1928 masterpiece about the Greek god with a score by Igor Stravinsky; and the profound and moving anti-war statement The Green Table, created by the German expressionist choreographer Kurt Jooss, set to a powerful and beautifully commissioned score by Frederick Cohen. Destiny’s Dances will be performed by The Joffrey Ballet February 14 – 25, 2007.

The 50th Anniversary Season will conclude with Light Rain, a mixed-repertory program featuring six cutting-edge works, culminating with Joffrey co-Founder and Artistic Director Gerald Arpino’s show-stopping signature piece of the same name. The program will open with a stunning excerpt from Legends, Joanna Haigood’s Dance for Yal, a daring solo featuring a woman in red on a swing, set to Edith Piaf’s “Et Pourtant,” followed by Pilobolus’ humorous Victorian-era inspired Untitled, an imaginative work about two women and their gentleman suitors, with music by Robert Dennis. Light Rain will also feature three unconventional short works: Gerald Arpino’s comic, battle-of-the-sexes “boxing match,” Valentine, accompanied by double bassist Joseph Guastafeste of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on-stage as the referee, performing the Jacob Druckman score; Moses Pendleton and Cynthia Quinn’s aerial dance piece White Widow, a haunting and fluid solo performed to Angelo Badalamenti’s mesmerizing “While the World Spins” with lyrics by David Lynch (as featured in the Robert Altman film The Company); and David Parson’s Caught, a heart-pounding, high energy solo performed to electronic music with a strobe light that makes the dancer appear to float and defy gravity. The Spring Program, Light Rain, will be performed April 25 – May 6, 2007.

“Many of the works on the Light Rain program were presented during our very first seasons here as Chicago’s resident ballet company,” said Arpino. “These pieces sparked fascination and excitement with audiences and we receive ongoing requests to perform them. An audience favorite since its premiere in 1981, Light Rain is one of the most often requested ballets in the Joffrey repertoire and I am honored that The Joffrey will be closing its 50th Anniversary Celebration with the signature piece that I created.”

Single tickets, priced from $20 to $130, are currently 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.

The three-program subscriptions, which include Cinderella, Destiny’s Dances, and Light Rain, start at $50, a “Golden” price. Subscriptions will go on-sale in February and will be available online at www.joffrey.com, by mail (Joffrey Ballet Subscriptions, 70 E. Lake Street, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601); telephone (312) 386-8905, fax (312-739-0119), or email [email protected].

The Joffrey Ballet extends special thanks to its 2006-2007 Season Sponsors, Huron Consulting Group and the Abbott Fund; Cinderella Program Sponsor, Chase; the Production Sponsor for Cinderella Chicago Community Trust and the NIB Foundation; The Nutcracker Program Sponsor, Exelon, Proud Parent of ComEd; Light Rain Program Sponsor Sidney L. Port. Live music for the 2006-2007 Season, provided by The Chicago Sinfonietta, is underwritten in part by The Joyce Foundation, the Julius Frankel Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, and Burton and Anne Kaplan. The 2006-2007 Season is also supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the CityArts Program of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The Joffrey Ballet is also supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to American Airlines, the Official Airline of The Joffrey Ballet.

For more information on the 50th Anniversary Joffrey Ballet Season

please call 312-739-0120 or visit www.joffrey.com.

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