The Joffrey Ballet presents American Moderns

 
The 2007-2008 Season will conclude with American Moderns, a repertory program featuring four explosive modern works that showcase the non-stop athleticism of the Joffrey dancers. The program opens with Paul Taylor's high-octane Cloven Kingdom (1976), set to an arranged score of Arcangelo Corelli and modern percussion composers Henry Cowell and Malloy Miller. Last performed by The Joffrey Ballet in 1988, this hip and energetic work is a wry commentary on man as a social animal. Next on the program is Mehmet Sander's intense Inner Space, a fascinating, athletic, funny, and harrowing work performed by three dancers inside a plexiglass box. The work is performed in silence with the only sounds being the dancers' breathing and their bodies hitting the inside of the box. Gerald Arpino shocked Chicago audiences when he had the Company present Inner Space in 1992, and the piece remains one of the most often requested in The Joffrey repertoire. The program will continue with Laura Dean's hypnotic Night, a fifteen-minute marathon for eight dancers, originally created for The Joffrey in 1980. Featuring elegant, zen-like movements, and her signature spins, Night set to a minimalist score composed by Dean.The program will close with the Company Premiere of Twyla Tharp's sleek, sexy, and zany Waterbaby Bagatelles (1994), which takes place on a pristinely surfaced stage, lit by rows of stark, ever re-arranging, florescent light bulbs. The piece, which is set to 20th century music, is an exciting showcase for a large number of dancers with especially powerful choreography for the male Company members.  

Performances May 14 – 25, 2008
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago
Tickets: $25 - $140, currently on-sale at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University box office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by telephone at (312) 902-1500, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. 
Performance Schedule: Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 17 at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 18 at 2 p.m.; Friday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 24 at 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 25 at 2 p.m.
 
For more information about The Joffrey Ballet please call 312-739-0120 or visit www.joffrey.com.
 

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