RECOMMENDED

“American Moderns” is finally here. The name of the program refers to choreographers that challenge expectations and broaden the definition of what dance can be. It is Joffrey Ballet, however, that is truly the master. Nowhere will you find such grace, athleticism and all around badassery as you will on the stage of the Auditorium Theatre right now. From beginning to end it is one delicious dance after the next. Paul Taylor’s “Cloven Kingdom” fits elegantly a company in top physical condition. I can’t imagine it fitting anyone better than Joffrey. The three dancers in Mehmet Sander’s “Inner Space” wiggle around inside a Plexiglas box in a way that defies logic. It is funny and fantastically absurd. The company premiere of Lar Lubovich’s “…smile with my hear” is a fresh tribute to Broadway composer Richard Rodgers and a light palette cleanser before the next of the evenings premieres. Twyla Tharp’s quirky choreographic feast “Waterbaby Bagatelles” is a definitively Tharp showpiece for the entire company. As schools of fish under the florescent lighting of a tank, the stars of these dancers glisten. Complex and joyous, this dance should join Joffrey’s permanent repertoire. There are four more performances of “American Moderns” left. I wish I could see it four more times. (William Scott)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, (312)902-1500. This production is now closed.

RECOMMENDED

I am new to Chicago and not yet had I the privilege to see The Joffrey Ballet live. With the company’s Anthony Tudor Centennial, celebrating the work of the legendary dance maker, I finally saw this exquisite company in top form. Consisting of three pieces, “Lilac Garden,” “Dark Elegies” and “Offenbach in the Underworld,” the program serves as a vibrant tribute to Tudor’s canon. Although “Elegies” is said to be one of Tudor’s greatest masterpieces, “Lilac Garden” exemplifies the psychological drama and narrative form that shape his unique genius. This Victorian melodrama chronicles a secret love affair that is torn apart by the ingénue’s impending arranged marriage. The characters are complex and danced with expert clarity. The turn of a head and power of shared glances meet technique well suited to the depth of the material. Your heart will break for the love that cannot be. The sorrows and revelries of the characters in the following pieces are just as riveting. (William Scott)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, (312)902-1500. This production is now closed. 

RECOMMENDED

Given all of the changes that have occurred at the Joffrey this year, it is good to see that the company’s flagship “Nutcracker” production looks as stunning as it ever did, particularly comforting after the dull and docile new “Giselle” that was unveiled two months ago. Robert Joffrey’s conception, filtered through now retired company co-founder Gerald Arpino, is Victorian America, say Boston circa 1850. The look is Currier & Ives and is always visually compelling, with period costumes and a color scheme of aquas, blues, purples and magentas to match. But what really stands out in the Joffrey version is the transformation to the world of Clara’s imagination: a land of sugar plum fairies and waltzing snowflakes that is as beautiful as it is magical. Both Clara and her Nutcracker prince, which are being danced by alternating performers, are true dancers (the Ruth Page version would cast children in the roles and give them surrogate dancers for their most important scenes together). The snowy winter wonderland is a magical, silver snowscape where we are treated to the “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” complete with the extravagance of having the Chicago Children’s Choir perform the aetherial vocalizations that Tchaikovsky called for at every performance, not to mention the superb orchestral accompaniment provided by the Chicago Sinfonietta under the baton of Leslie Dunner. The dance revue that makes up Act II is gracefully performed, if too slow for the score, yet isn’t afraid to display a sense of humor when appropriate, including a giant gingerbread puppet. This remains the best area “Nutcracker” in a very crowded marketplace for the beloved work. (Dennis Polkow)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, (312)902-1500. This production is now closed. 

RECOMMENDED

Now in its twelfth season and garnering a reputation for presenting evocative and inspiring performances utilizing innovative choreographers, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet will make its Chicago debut under the artistic direction of Joffrey Ballet veteran Tom Mossbrucker in a three-work program that includes the Chicago premiere of Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo’s “1st Flash,” “Noir Blanc” by MOMIX’s Moses Pendleton, plus legendary Twyla Tharp’s rarely seen “Sweet Fields,” a perfect work for Thanksgiving week with its use of abstract dancer “congregants” set in motion to Shaker hymns, including “Simple Gifts.” (Dennis Polkow)

At the Harris Theater for Music & Dance, 205 E. Randolph, (312)334-7777. This production is now closed. 

It’s difficult to know what to make of the new Joffrey “Giselle,” the company’s first in its long history, that was unveiled last week at the Auditorium Theatre. Coming as it does at a time of great transition for the company where co-founder Gerald Alpino is stepping down and new artistic director Ashley Wheater is stepping in, what does it say that this most traditional of all ballets—indeed, the work that is the very precursor to classical ballet as we know it—is being presented in the most traditional manner possible at the beginning of a new era in the Joffrey saga? If you are expecting a rethinking of a classic along the lines of the company’s brilliant and innovative “Nutcracker,” clearly you won’t find it here. What you will find is a staging and sets that could have passed for state-of-the-art decades ago, a “retro” Giselle,” if you will, that makes no attempt whatsoever to take advantage of twenty-first-century stagecraft. Even the sets are borrowed from another company, and the choreographer, 93-year old British choreographer Frederic Franklin, is basing his ideas, we are told, from a Russian version from the 1930s. The dancing is spectacular, to be sure, but derivative, and the gliding “wilis” or ghosts of maidens left jilted on their wedding days, are always a treat. What is missing is the “Joffrey” touch, a stamp that says, “this is ours, this is special,” which is something we have come to expect from this company. If this were a touring production from another company, we would be satisfied. But Joffrey has set the bar higher, and as such, it falls short on the company’s own terms. (Dennis Polkow)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, (312)902-1500. This production is now closed.

RECOMMENDED

This fall program features the world premiere of “CUGAT!” a large-scale company homage to the dynamic 1930s and 1940s era of “Mambo King” Xavier Cugat choreographed by Luna Negra founder and artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, with live accompaniment by Chicago’s own Grammy Award-nominated twenty-one-piece Angel Melendez & The 911 Mambo Orchestra performing six Mambo tunes made famous by the Cuban arranger and bandleader known as “Cugie.” Also on the bill are two Chicago premieres: “Allegro con Sabor,” a co-commission of the Joffrey Ballet and the Luna Negra Dance Theater choreographed by Bessie award-winner Pedro Ruiz and performed by Joffrey dancers Willy Shives and Megan Quiroz and Luna Negra dancers Ricardo Garcia & Vanessa Valecillos inspired by the music of Eric Lewis that attempts to capture the color and sounds of a sultry night in the tropics, and “Tango Vitrola,” by Argentine choreographer Alejandro Cervera, which explores the history, rhythms and dance forms of the tango and combines them with ballet and contemporary dance. Rounding out the program is the reprise of “Sugar in the Raw” by Luna Negra rehearsal director Michelle Manzanales which premiered last spring and which explores what it means to be a Latino and is set to music by Argentine film composer Gustavo Santaolalla (“Babel,” “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “Brokeback Mountain”). Note that the Sunday performance is a reduced-price special “Mi Familia, My Dance” program that substitutes “Tango” and “Sugar” with Septime Webre’s “piel canela” and Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s “Flabbergast.” (Dennis Polkow)

 At the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph, (312)334-7777. This production is now closed.