Rave Reviews for The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago
Chicago’s Spring Festival of Dance
“The Joffrey’s Spring engagement was a four-part jewel!”
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
“The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago is dancing brilliantly. On top of this their dancers can do everything.”
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago opened the 1998 Spring Festival dance with what the Chicago Tribune called “a full dance arsenal.” Included in the engagement, which featured three different exciting programs of mixed repertory, were revivals of Kurt Jooss’ searing anti-war masterpiece THE GREEN TABLE; Gerald Arpino’s VIVA VIVALDI, TOUCH ME (performed with a live Gospel choir) and L’AIR D’ESPRIT; and Peter Pucci’s tribute to Native American culture, MOON OF THE FALLING LEAVES.
Washington, D.C.
“The true magic of the season.”
Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post
“A way of dancing with its brio and buoyancy, its emphasis on youthful flourish was here to be recognized.”
Clive Barnes, New York Post
The Joffrey returned to the Kennedy Center Opera House for one week of mixed repertory that “New York would instantly recognize as distinctly Joffrey” and a week of Robert Joffrey’s NUTCRACKER. Arpino’s “joyous” Kettentanz was a highlight of the mixed repertory performances in which “the dancers swept and swooped vigorously into their own.” The Nutcracker received special acclaim from Sarah Kaufman who praised that “under Joffrey’s knowing hand, there is a gorgeously decorated set and (credit artistic director Gerald Arpino for this) polished dancing to boot.” The best testament came from a young audience member overheard at intermission telling her mother: “Mama, I want to be like them.”
 The cast of Robert Joffrey’s NUTCRACKER helped light the Holiday tree at Marshal Field’s. |
The Nutcracker
“Holiday must”
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
“Joffrey’s Nutcracker sparkles and enchants”
Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
Robert Joffrey’s holiday classic celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 1997 and this “pure confection” was “pure Joffrey. And he touchingly infused it with the spirit of childhood joys remembered.” The two-weekend run at the Rosemont Theatre delighted and enchanted children of all ages. Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune, noted that the “real star of this Nutcracker is the dance….the Nutcracker blends Russian tradition and the 20th-Century stamp of Joffrey’s partner, Gerald Arpino, into a paradoxically seamless patchwork quilt.”
Ravinia
“From Romantic-era ballet to Gerald Arpino’s bold calisthenics, Wednesday nights performances culminated in soaring ecstasy.”
Lucia Mauro, Chicago Sun-Times
The 40th Anniversary season built to “a breathless crescendo” in an encore performance of some of the company’s signature works at the Ravinia Festival, August 27-31. This engagement was the first time in almost two decades that The Joffrey has performed at Ravinia, a summer home-away-from-home for the company from 1972-79. A special Family Fun Concert featured the choreography of Joffrey dancer Davis Robertson’s PORTRAIT OF HITCH, a ballet that combines the talents Joffrey dancers with those of wheelchair dancers from Alana Smith’s DanceDetour
Telluride
“the audience…hooted, stomped, whistled and just plain applauded their appreciation.”
Susan Viebrock, Telluride Daily Planet
The company was definitely on a “Rocky Mountain High” when they returned from a month-long summer residency in Telluride, Colorado. The residency in this beautiful mountain resort community provided an opportunity for the company to rehearse new repertory for the 1997-98 Chicago and touring season. The Telluride community was buzzing with Joffrey excitement. Performances drew out celebrated Telluride residents and visitors, including Sissy Spacek, Darryl Hannah and Jane Seymour. The residency is the first of a long-term relationship between the company and the Telluride community.
Photo: Mark Goldweber
Members of the company taking class on stage amongst the ruins of the 2,000 year old Ephesus Antique Theatre. The company performed BILLBOARDS in Istanbul and Ephesus Turkey as part of the 1997 Yapi Kredi International Festival.
Los Angeles
“a great American company…skillful and passionate.”
Lewis Segal, The Los Angeles Times
The Company returned to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles with a five performance engagement of LEGENDS II, LIGHT RAIN and KETTENTANZ. The dancers lit up the stage with Calvin Kitten “making every move into a major event – including his spectacular multiple turns”, Guoping Wang “peeling off one gorgeous turning-jump after another” and Lorena Feijoo’s “great feathery delicacy , as unpredictably supple and vibrant when being lifted as when set free to dance on her own.”
Honolulu
“The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago’s return in hot! hot! hot!”
John Berger, Star-Bulletin
“Applause and cheers welcomed” the company with Hawaiian hospitality when the company performed at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu this past July. The company brought its unique “cross-cultural fusion” to the stage with selections from BILLBOARDS, Arpino’s ROUND OF ANGELS and his sensual LIGHT RAIN.