An unlikely collaboration between a Chicago-based filmmaker, dancers at The Joffrey Ballet, and the International Crane Foundation became a passion project and the beginning of the conservation short film series Mates for Life. Shot in a prairie setting, Mates for Life features two dancers, Joffrey artists Olivia Duryea and Dylan Gutierrez, portraying whooping cranes in […]
From a small-town studio in California to taking on lead roles in a world-renowned ballet company, Jonathan Dole has had many adventures bringing him to the wonderland we call Chicago and a home at the Joffrey Ballet. This month, he dances two major roles in Christoper Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. As the first American […]
The age-old idiom “it’s a small world” takes on profound meaning in the dance world. What might seem a like niche profession has a global reach, finding its way into even the smallest corners of a dance studio. A young, sensitive boy growing up in France, a British girl fascinated with storytelling, a Ukrainian-born ballet […]
This week, The Joffrey Ballet brings Atonement to the Lyric Opera stage. This is the first ballet adaptation of Ian McEwan’s best-selling novel turned Academy Award®-winning film, choreographed by Cathy Marston in a co-production with Ballet Zürich. Make It Better (MIB) spoke with Joffrey’s Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director, Ashley Wheater MBE, last week before […]
On June 14, the Joffrey Ballet, a major grant partner of the Make It Better Foundation, celebrated the Chicago end to an incredible 68th season with its largest annual fundraising event, this year titled, Midsummer Celebration. It only seemed fitting to plan a gala event inspired by Alexander Ekman’s Swedish take on “A Midsummer Night’s […]
It’s pitch black. Gradually, you see stars and the opening credits scroll up the dome like a Star Wars movie intro. “Adler Planetarium and The Joffrey Ballet present an Action Lines production in association with Big Foot Media.” Then, you hear a voice… Our universe … a gravitational stage upon which all things dance … […]
If a dancer sprains an ankle or tears their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — common ailments in a field where they train like Olympic athletes — they immediately see a doctor or physical therapist for assessment. But what if the injury is on the inside, invisible to the outside world? For artists at the top […]
Victoria Jaiani, a company artist at The Joffrey Ballet, is the quintessential ballerina. If you see her walking down the street in the Loop on a rehearsal break, you see the slim figure, long dark hair, expressive eyes and immediately know she’s a dancer — and that she’s someone special. She captures your attention and […]
The Joffrey Ballet’s 2021-2022 season marks a triumphant return to the stage. The fall program entitled Home: a Celebration, Oct. 13–24, 2021, includes original works with three inspired, new-to-the-stage works. They include: Bolero by Joffrey Company Artist Yoshihisa Arai, Under the Trees’ Voices by Joffrey Rehearsal Director Nicolas Blanc, and Swing Low by Winning Works choreographer Chanel DaSilva; along with the […]
It’s almost time for the world premiere of Joffrey Ballet’s highly anticipated “Anna Karenina,” and don’t miss a new Evanston festival, a City Winery concert, the end of Chicago Theatre Week, and more. “Anna Karenina“ Feb. 13-24 Chicago Based on Leo Tolstoy‘s novel, Joffrey Ballet, in collaboration with The Australian Ballet, presents the world premiere […]
