Ashley Wheater News

Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, has announced the launch of the Joffrey Academy Contemporary Ballet Trainee Program, the first full-time contemporary ballet training program offered by a classical ballet company in the United States.

Get exclusive presale access to Riccardo Muti’s culminating season as music director which revives signature pieces, showcases the Orchestra's principal players and features premieres of new compositions. Season highlights also include guest appearances from Yefim Bronfman, Hilary Hahn, Maurizio Pollini, Joshua Bell, Maria João Pires and returning holiday favorites: A Chanticleer Christmas and Merry, Merry Chicago!

The Joffrey Ballet presents the world premiere of Rita Finds Home, a family-friendly program and collaborative project between the Joffrey and Miami City Ballet, which will make its debut at the Navy Pier Lake Stage, July 9–10, 2022.

The Joffrey Ballet and Action Lines, a video production company founded by Joffrey Artists Xavier Núñez, Dylan Gutierrez, and writer/producer Eric Grant, unveil a bold new video filmed at the FDR Four Freedoms State Park to mark Pride Month.

After being postponed in February due to COVID-19, The Joffrey Ballet presents the international classic Don Quixote for the first time since its world premiere in 2011.

BroadwayWorld reports on 'Helgi Tomasson: A Celebration' at San Francisco Ballet held on April 24th to honor the retirement of its transformative artistic director after an unprecedented 37 years at the helm.

The Joffrey Ballet and the American Guild of Musical Artists, the union that represents the Joffrey's 46 Company Artists and Joffrey stage management, have reached a new five-year collective bargaining agreement, beginning July 1, 2022, and running through June 30, 2027.

The Joffrey Ballet announced today the world premiere of Rita Finds Home, a family-friendly program and collaborative project between the Joffrey and Miami City Ballet, which will make its debut at the Navy Pier Lake Stage, July 9–10, 2022.

The Music Academy of the West has designated $75,000 in funding for four Alumni Enterprise Award projects as part of its 75th anniversary initiatives. These ventures have the potential to spark change in the field of classical music and beyond. The winners' groundbreaking work will provoke new thinking about the arts and their reflection of society.

As the centerpiece of its 2021-22 season, The Joffrey Ballet will present a spring program featuring the world-premiere adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men by choreographer Cathy Marston, set to a score by Academy Award-nominated composer Thomas Newman, his first-ever work for ballet.

Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, today announced the Joffrey’s 2022–2023 Season at Lyric Opera House, featuring a world premiere from a rising choreographic star, a revival from a Joffrey icon, the return of a Joffrey blockbuster, and a full-length story ballet of such grand scale that it is rarely seen in the United States.

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, presents four world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey's national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications for the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works Choreographic Competition.

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, announces the recipients of the twelfth annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition: Audrey Ipapo Baran, Joffrey Company Artist Edson Barbosa, Taylor Carrasco, and Derick McKoy.

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, announced the recipients of the twelfth annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition: Audrey Ipapo Baran, Joffrey Company Artist Edson Barbosa, Taylor Carrasco, and Derick McKoy. 

As live performances return to venues throughout Southern California, Irvine Barclay Theatre welcomes a new season featuring an array of renowned performers, from iconic dancers to Grammy-winning artists, the beloved holiday classic The Nutcracker, and Emmy nominee and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, among others.

The Joffrey Ballet's critically-acclaimed reimagined classic, The Nutcracker, by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, is certain to be a highlight of the Joffrey's first-ever season at the historic Lyric Opera House, 20 North Upper Wacker Drive, in 26 performances, December 4 – 26, 2021.

Raymond Rodriguez has announced Christopher Marney as the new Head of Studio Company and Trainees at the Academy. Marney begins his new role on November 3, 2021, just eight weeks after the Joffrey Academy of Dance opened its new “Joffrey for All” studio space and training facilities at 1920 South Wabash Avenue.

The Joffrey Ballet's Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director and Greg Cameron, President and CEO are pleased to announce the addition of four dancers to the Joffrey roster for the 2021-22 season: Brian Bennett (Lanham, Maryland), Blake Kessler (Jacksonville, Florida), Yuchan Kim (Seoul, South Korea) and Miranda Silveira (Barcelona, Spain). With these new company members, The Joffrey Ballet has expanded to 43 dancers representing 13 countries.

As live performances return to venues throughout Southern California, Irvine Barclay Theatre has announced nearly 20 shows that it has added to its season, which kicks off on September 19 with the country chart-topping trio The Gatlin Brothers.

The Joffrey Ballet opens its inaugural season at the Lyric Opera House and marks its return to live performances with Home: a Celebration.