Robert Joffrey News

Tune in tomorrow, Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at 12:35 PM (ET) to join in the celebration with 'Mr. Showbusiness' on Jimmy Ferraro's THEATRE CHAT AND THIS 'N THAT, broadcasting live on WWJB -- regionally and nationally on the world wide web: www.wwjb.com/pages/4395150.php. This week's guests are actress and playwright Terry Burrell and actor, producer, and choreographer Lawrence Leritz.

The Joffrey Ballet celebrates the 26th annual presentation of Robert Joffrey'sThe Nutcracker, Chicago's most popular holiday tradition and America's #1 Nutcracker, in a 23-performance engagement at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, December 6 - 28, 2013. Check out a sneak peek below!

Joffrey Ballet School, a world-renowned dance center offering the most versatile and highest quality training, will open its doors to even more prospective students for its 2014 season auditions. In celebration of its 60th year anniversary, Joffrey Ballet School will invite dancers to try out in more than 60 cities across the U.S. as well as multiple international locations. The school has year-round programs in New York City and also produces the world's largest summer training program with locations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami, Georgia, Florence Italy, and in Russia with the Bolshoi Ballet. A new location in Denver will join the 2014 summer offerings.

CHICAGO (November 12, 2013) – The Joffrey Ballet celebrates the 26th annual presentation of Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker, Chicago's most popular holiday tradition and America's #1 Nutcracker, in a 23-performance engagement at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, December 6 – 28, 2013.

Joffrey Ballet School, a world-renowned dance center offering the most versatile and highest quality training, will once again present Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker this holiday season with 355 dancers – the largest cast in the school's 60-year history. Returning to the Skirball Performing Arts Center, Joffrey Ballet School will perform five performances of the holiday favorite with three casts, December 13 – 15, 2013. In addition to delighting in the timeless tale of The Nutcracker, audiences will also enjoy its rich legacy of culture, with dances inspired by Spain, Arabia, China and Russia.

Returning to the Skirball Performing Arts Center, Joffrey Ballet School will perform five performances of the holiday favorite with three casts, December 13 – 15, 2013.

The Joffrey Ballet and Executive Director Greg Cameron have announced that Sarai Hoffman has joined the Joffrey's executive leadership team as its new Chief Development Officer. Hoffman brings to the company over 20 years of experience in fundraising for some Chicago's leading cultural and educational institutions.

Less than a month after its special 'Russian Masters' program, The Joffrey Ballet transports Chicago audiences to India with the Chicago Premiere of La Bayadere: The Temple Dancer, choreographed by Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch. La Bayadere is presented over 10 performances with orchestral accompaniment by The Chicago Philharmonic conducted by Joffrey Music Director Scott Speck, at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, tonight, October 16 - 27.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the innovative contemporary Dance Company from the American West led by Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker and Executive Director Jean-Philippe Malaty, returns to the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Street, for one performance only tonight, October 5 at 7:30 pm.

Northrop at the University of Minnesota presents Hubbard Dance Street Chicago tonight, Sep 21 at 8:00 pm at the State Theatre as the opening performance in the 2013-14 Northrop dance season.

As Houston's leading performing arts presenter, Society for the Performing Arts (SPA) has announced its 2013-2014 season filled with music, dance and family entertainment from the world's best artists and companies.

Less than a month after its special "Russian Masters" program, The Joffrey Ballet transports Chicago audiences to India with the Chicago Premiere of La Bayadere: The Temple Dancer, choreographed by Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch. La Bayadere is presented over 10 performances with orchestral accompaniment by The Chicago Philharmonic conducted by Joffrey Music Director Scott Speck, at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, October 16 - 27.

The Joffrey Ballet kicks off its 2013-14 'Masters of Dance' season with a special addition to its home engagement line-up, a one-weekend-only program titled 'Russian Masters' celebrating the centennial of Vaslav Nijinsky's ground-breaking 1913 ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), alongside George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante and two works byYuri Possokhov, the Chicago Premiere of Adagio and the return of his 2011 Joffrey commission, Bells. These four powerful works by Russian choreographers and composers are presented in four performances only in the Joffrey's home venue, the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago at 50 E. Congress Parkway, today, September 19 - 22.

The Joffrey Ballet, led by Artistic Director Ashley Wheater and Executive Director Greg Cameron, announced today that the Company has been awarded a $500,000 challenge grant from the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation expressly to launch an endowment for the creation, production and performance of full-length story ballets. The new Rudolf Nureyev Fund at The Joffrey Ballet, as it will be known, represents one of the largest awarded to a single cultural institution in the Foundation's history, with the Joffrey joining such other high profile organizations as the New York City Ballet, School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and The Joyce Theatre. The Joffrey Ballet will be responsible for raising an additional $1 million to complete the Fund.

The Joffrey Ballet holds open auditions for the Children's Cast of Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker at its downtown studios in Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph Street, today, September 15. All students in the greater Chicagoland area with dance experience are welcome to audition.

Northrop at the University of Minnesota presents Hubbard Dance Street Chicago on Sat, Sep 21 at 8:00 pm at the State Theatre as the opening performance in the 2013-14 Northrop dance season.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, the innovative contemporary dance company from the American West led by Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker and Executive Director Jean-Philippe Malaty, returns to the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Street, for one performance only Saturday, October 5 at 7:30 pm.

The Joffrey Ballet holds open auditions for the Children's Cast of Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker at its downtown studios in Joffrey Tower, 10 E. Randolph Street, Sunday, September 15. All students in the greater Chicagoland area with dance experience are welcome to audition.

The Joffrey Ballet kicks off its 2013-14 "Masters of Dance" season with a special addition to its home engagement line-up, a one-weekend-only program titled "Russian Masters" celebrating the centennial of Vaslav Nijinsky's ground-breaking 1913 ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), alongside George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante and two works byYuri Possokhov, the Chicago Premiere of Adagio and the return of his 2011 Joffrey commission, Bells. These four powerful works by Russian choreographers and composers are presented in four performances only in the Joffrey's home venue, the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago at 50 E. Congress Parkway, September 19 - 22.

The Joffrey Ballet kicks off its 2013-14 "Masters of Dance" season with a special addition to its home engagement line-up, a one-weekend-only program titled "Russian Masters" celebrating the centennial of Vaslav Nijinsky's ground-breaking 1913 ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), alongside George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante and two works by Yuri Possokhov, the Chicago Premiere of Adagio and the return of his 2011 Joffrey commission, Bells. These four powerful works by Russian choreographers and composers are presented in four performances only in the Joffrey's home venue, the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago at 50 E. Congress Parkway, September 19 - 22.