Joffrey Ballet Concludes Season with SPRING DESIRE, 4/25-5/6

The Joffrey Ballet's season concludes with a spring mixed repertory program of three sensual, neo-classical works in "Spring Desire," presented in ten performances only at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 East Congress Parkway, April 25 – May 6. 

With this program, the Joffrey Ballet heralds the return of Edwaard Liang's 2008 world premiere, Age of Innocence.  Set to the music of Philip Glass and Thomas Newman, Age of Innocence explores the uncertainty, tension and passion of human romance.  Liang was inspired by the novels of Jane Austin in which individuals frequently struggle to express themselves beyond the confines of social decorum.  The choreography juxtaposes nineteenth century austerity with contemporary athleticism and sensuality.

Also featured is Jerome Robbins' 1970 masterpiece In the Night.  Danced to Frederick Chopin's piano nocturnes, Robbins portrays three couples whose relationships range from tender romance to stoic reserve and passionate confrontation.  As the six gather for a final dance, Robbins offers a window into universal human nature.   

The centerpiece of the "Spring Desire" program is a world premiere by San Francisco-based Val Caniparoli.  Caniparoli's choreography is rooted in classical ballet but influenced by all forms of movement, including modern, ethnic and social dancing.  His new work for the Joffrey, titled Incantations, is set to a meditative score of the same name by Russian minimalist composer Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky.  The arc of the music and the ballet is continuous movement, akin to a vortex or a mantra.  Underlying this spiral motion is a sense of human spirituality, mysticism and prayer.  Supporting the ritual atmosphere of Incantations are set and costume designs by Sandra Woodall and lighting design by Lucy Carter, also the lighting designer for the Joffrey's U.S. Premiere of Wayne McGregor's Infra.

"The human spirit is invariably the focus of dance and the dancers of The Joffrey Ballet," said Ashley C. Wheater, Joffrey Artistic Director.  "These three choreographers are able to touch audiences with vignettes drawn from the human experience.  By combining their work in one program, I hope we provide a sense of the emotional range available within our art form."

About the Choreographers

Val Caniparoli, born in Renton, Washington, opted for a professional dance career after studying music and theatre at Washington State University.  In 1972, he received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to attend San Francisco Ballet School and he performed with the San Francisco Opera Ballet before joining the San Francisco Ballet in 1973.  He continues to choreograph for the San Francisco Ballet under Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson.  He has contributed to the repertories of more than 35 dance companies worldwide, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ballet West (Resident Choreographer 1993-97), Washington Ballet, Israel Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, State Theatre Ballet of South Africa, Louisville Ballet and Tulsa Ballet, where he has been resident choreographer since 2001.  His most recent ballets in 2010 were created for Milwaukee Ballet and Scottish Ballet.

Edwaard Liang was born in Taipei, Taiwan.  He was raised in Marin County, California, and began his ballet training at the age of five at Marin Ballet.  In 1989, Liang entered the School of American Ballet.  He joined New York City Ballet in the spring of 1993, and that same year he was a medal winner at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition and the Mae L. Wien Award.  He was promoted to Soloist in 1998.  Liang danced with NYCB until 2001, when he joined the Broadway cast of Fosse, performing a leading principle role.  In 2002, Liang became a member of acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater 1, where he danced, choreographed and staged ballets.  After returning from Holland, Liang returned to NYCB from 2004 to 2007.  Liang has also performed as a Guest Artist with various companies including the Norwegian National Ballet and Complexions.  He currently works in New York City as an independent choreographer.

Jerome Robbins is world renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets as well as his work as a director and choreographer in theater, movies and television.  His Broadway shows include On the Town, Billion Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Peter Pan, Miss Liberty, Call Me Madam and Fiddler on the Roof.  Among the more than 60 ballets he created are Fancy Free, Afternoon of a Faun, The Concert, Dances At a Gathering, In the Night, In G Major, Other Dances, Glass Pieces and Ives, Songs, which are in the repertories of New York City Ballet and other major dance companies throughout the world.  His last ballets include A Suite of Dances created for Mikhail Baryshnikov (1994), 2 & 3 Part Inventions (1994), West Side Story Suite (1995) and Brandenburg (1996).  In addition to two Academy Awards for the film West Side Story, Robbins has received four Tony® Awards, five Donaldson Awards, two Emmy® Awards, the Screen Directors' Guild Award and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.  Robbins was a 1981 Kennedy Center Honors Recipient and was awarded the French Chevalier dans l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur.  He passed away in 1998.

The Joffrey Ballet's "Spring Desire" program runs from Wednesday, April 25 through Sunday, May 6 at the Auditorium Theatre.  The complete performance schedule is as follows:  Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 pm; Friday, April 27, 7:30 pm; Saturday, April 28, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm; Sunday, April 29, 2:00 pm; Thursday, May 3, 7:30 pm; Friday, May 4, 7:30 pm; Saturday, May 5, 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm; Sunday, May 6, 2:00 pm.

Single tickets range from $25 to $149 and are available for purchase at The Joffrey Ballet's official Box Office located in the lobby of Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph Street, as well as the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by telephone at (800) 982-2787, or online at www.ticketmaster.com.  

For more information on The Joffrey Ballet and its programs visit joffrey.org.