The Joffrey Ballet's L.A. Debut of ANNA KARENINA Comes to the Music Center

 The Music Center's boldest dance season yet, featuring a number of works about strong, dynamic women, continues when The Joffrey Ballet's rendition of Anna Karenina commands the stage of The Music Center's iconic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, June 21–23, 2024. The Chicago-based company, celebrating 68 years of artistic excellence, is one of the premier dance companies in the world today and will enrapture Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center audiences with its spectacular rendition of Leo Tolstoy's 19th-century masterpiece, considered one of the most famous stories in all of literature. The Los Angeles premiere of Anna Karenina unravels the profound power and desire of a life-changing affair between the beautiful but married Anna and the dashing Count Vronsky.

“The Music Center is thrilled to welcome back The Joffrey Ballet, which last graced our stages in 2018 with a beautiful and modern rendition of Romeo and Juliet, and with which we have had a long and treasured relationship. For the 21st season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, the esteemed company will perform an equally powerful story about forbidden love,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Works about strong, dynamic women are at the essence of our current dance season; Anna Karenina, as the alluring protagonist of this visually stunning ballet, is icing on the cake. Her torrid yet tragic love affair and the choreography of this incredible piece will leave Angelenos breathless and wanting more.”

Recipient of the 2019 Benois de la Danse International Prize for Best Choreography (considered the “Oscars of Dance”), Anna Karenina had its world premiere in Chicago. This production, created by acclaimed Ukrainian-born choreographer Yuri Possokhov and set in late 19th-century Imperial Russia, is heightened by impeccable costume design, captivating choreography that exemplifies the highest standards in classical dance training and a live orchestra performing an original score by award-winning composer Ilya Demutsky. Chicago Tribune lauds “Anna Karenina is a feat of artistic genius…and some of the best narrative choreography created for a 21st century ballet.”

“Great stories like Tolstoy's Anna Karenina bridge time, geographical boundaries, and politics. They reflect our shared humanity,” says The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE. “Bringing this beloved, full-length ballet to The Music Center for its Los Angeles premiere marks a significant moment for the Joffrey. Anna Karenina is a production of massive scale that will not only inspire audiences through its visually striking display of set designs, costumes, choreography, and sweeping score, but also fill the hearts of so many through its incredibly moving story.”

Extending its residency beyond the theatre, The Joffrey Ballet will lead dance workshops at four senior centers in Los Angeles County’s unincorporated communities. A professional teaching artist with Joffrey will lead four one-hour workshops, on June 12–13, 2024, that engage and inspire Angelenos through dance and movement with lessons tailored to older adults of all mobility levels. The health-affirming dance workshops, arranged through a partnership between the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department and The Music Center, will be held at various locations, from East L.A. to South Los Angeles, from Whittier to Altadena. Participating older adults will be invited to attend The Joffrey Ballet’s dress rehearsal on June 21, 2024.

Tickets to The Joffrey Ballet’s Anna Karenina are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org/joffrey or calling (213) 972-0711. 

To post a comment, you must register and login.