The Jooss Ballet

I recently attended a performance of La Bayadere. The dancing was excellent, but the music by Ludwig Minkus was excruciating. I realize that it has a jump, a bounce, danceable adagio notes, but after three hours of listening to it my head was spinning. I went home intending to wash Minkus out of both my hair and brain by listening to every note that Shostakovich and Prokofiev ever wrote. If I want to hear music, let's not settle for anything less than best and, many times, the brilliant.

The Joffrey Ballet's 2012-2013 season launches this fall with a mixed repertory program titled "Human Landscapes," featuring three choreographers exploring principles of the human spirit through dance. The Joffrey brings James Kudelka's critically acclaimed Pretty BALLET back to the stage along with Ji?i Kylian's rarely seen work Forgotten Land. A highlight of the season is the ground-breaking anti-war ballet The Green Table, choreographed by Kurt Jooss in the aftermath of World War I. The "Human Landscapes" program is presented in 10 performances only at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, October 17 - 28, 2012.