THE JOFFREY BALLET LAUNCHES ITS 2010-2011 STARS SEASON WITH

At the Auditorium Theatre, October 13 – 24

CHICAGO – September 13, 2010 – Joffrey Ballet Artistic Director Ashley C. Wheater presents the 2010-2011 Stars season, launching with All Stars, a mixed repertory program of four works—three of which are Company Premieres—by three iconic New York choreographers: George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Christopher Wheeldon. The All Stars program will be presented at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, October 13 – 24, 2010. All Stars marks the first Joffrey program to include an additional Thursday performance on October 21, making ten performances throughout the run – up from nine in previous seasons.

“The autumn program features ballets created on the New York City Ballet by three of its resident choreographers: George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Christopher Wheeldon,” said Wheater.  “The relationship between these choreographers and the Joffrey Ballet is nearly as old as the Joffrey itself.  When Robert Joffrey first started the Company, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins offered their choreography in support of the fledgling troupe. When I became Artistic Director, Christopher Wheeldon offered Carousel, and now, After the Rain, to the Joffrey.  I would like to dedicate this series of performances to the creative force of the New York City Ballet, in gratitude for the support we have received through the years from these master choreographers.”

The All Stars program opens with the Joffrey Premiere of George Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto, which was revised in 1972 from a previous choreographic endeavor titled Balustrade that premiered in 1941. Using the opening "Toccata," two central “Arias” and the final "Capriccio" from Igor Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D, Balanchine forms contrasting pas de deux, one soft and lyrical while the other is sharply angular, framed by grand ensemble sections. The choreography for this festive work is rooted in the folk dance traditions of Georgia, then a part of the Soviet Union, imbuing Balanchine’s characteristically intricate and demanding movement with a Russian flavor appropriate for an homage to the genius of Stravinsky.

The program continues with Christopher Wheeldon’s emotionally resonant After the Rain (2005), also a Joffrey Premiere. While many dance companies have performed parts of this work, The Joffrey Ballet is the first company outside of Wheeldon’s own to be awarded the rights to perform the entire piece. Set to the minimalist, classical music of Arvo Pärt, After the Rain is in two sections that are strikingly different in tone, with the first section marked by steel gray costumes and backdrop with three couples creating bold lines and intricate lifts. The second section shifts to a warmer palette as dancers embody an emotional relationship, at times becoming tender and connected while at other times pulling away or struggling to find each other. The work juxtaposes the harsh with the soft as dancers explore the space between them in an emotional push-and-pull.

The program will also include Balanchine’s Tarantella (1964), set to the Grand Tarantelle for Piano and Orchestra, op.67, by Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Hershy Kay. The profusion of steps and the quick