♦ Location: Chicago, Illinois – United States
♦ Artistic Director: Ashley Wheater MBE
♦ Affiliated School: Joffrey Academy
♦ Founded in 1956 by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino
Joffrey Ballet 2025-2026 Season
“Our 70th anniversary celebrates the Joffrey’s extraordinary legacy, a place where past and future seamlessly intertwine. This milestone season commemorates 70 years of innovation, 30 years of calling Chicago home, and a decade of Christopher Wheeldon’s reimagined Nutcracker.
From the intensity of Liam Scarlett’s Carmen to iconic works by Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, Glen Tetley, and Martha Graham in American Icons, this season reflects our bold and revolutionary spirit.
Bringing ambitious new works to the stage is at the heart of the company, and this year is no exception. We’ll conclude the season with the Chicago premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s Eugene Onegin, a performance sure to leave audiences breathless.
It will be a season like no other — a defining moment to experience the Joffrey at its best, more electrifying than ever.“
Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director of Joffrey Ballet
“Seventy years ago, Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino embarked on a bold journey, fueled by their belief in the positive, transformative power of dance.
Thirty years ago, thanks to dedicated advocates and supporters, the Joffrey found its permanent home in Chicago.
Today, under the leadership of the Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE, the third Artistic Director in the company’s history, the Joffrey continues to shape the future of dance; from reimagining The Nutcracker within Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair to commissioning world premieres. Our anniversary season honors our past while fearlessly embracing what’s next.”
– Greg Cameron, President and CEO of Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Ballet 2024-2025 Season
The Joffrey Ballet 2024-2025 season at Lyric Opera House has just been announced, featuring new creations by Dani Rowe and Yuri Possokhov as well as United States and Chicago premieres of ballets by Cathy Marston and Christopher Wheeldon, respectively.
“It is always an honor to set premieres on the Joffrey, whether new to Chicago, the U.S., or the world.
Our 69th season is a special invitation for audiences to immerse themselves in an abundance of fresh, captivating narratives. We begin with the haunting echoes of redemption in Cathy Marston’s poignant adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement, a co-production with Ballett Zürich making its North American premiere.
In our winter series, Golden Hour, we’ll infuse the Lyric with a touch of warmth through radiant interpretations, including Dani Rowe’s Princess and the Pea.
Lastly, we close the season on a celebratory note, as we are the first American company to stage Christopher Wheeldon’s unique realm of beauty, curiosity, and delight with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
his year, Chicago will witness all that dance can offer.”
Ashley Wheater, Artistic Director of Joffrey Ballet
President and CEO Greg Cameron adds:
“The coming season provides the opportunity for continued growth, both artistically and on a business front. Ashley’s vision is grounded in Robert Joffrey’s founding principle to embrace the new, and in a city fostering creative growth and exploration, Chicago is the perfect home for a year as expansive and dynamic as this one.
Our 2024-2025 season invites audiences of all ages to experience the many worlds of dance.”
The season opens with Cathy Marston’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement and is followed by Christopher Wheeldon’s production of The Nutcracker which is set during the Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair.
Following is the only repertory program of the season – Golden Hour – which features the world premiere of Dani Rowe’s Princess and the Pea, a modern re-envisioning of the classic fairy tale with music by Jim Stephenson; Marston’s Heimat, a glorious symphonic poem transformed to dance and composed by Richard Wagner; the return of audience favorite, Nicolas Blanc’s Under the Trees’ Voices, set to Ezio Bosso’s Symphony No. 2.; and a world premiere by choreographer of the critically acclaimed Anna Karenina, Yuri Possokhov.
The season closes with the U.S. premiere of Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© inspired by Lewis Carroll’s cast of surreal characters. The production features Joby Talbot’s hallucinatory soundworld of sweeping melodies and ticking clocks and Tony Award®-winning designer Bob Crowley’s vibrant stagecraft and puppetry.
Source: Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Ballet Upcoming Performances
Joffrey Ballet: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Joffrey Ballet: Carmen
Joffrey Ballet: The Nutcracker
Joffrey Ballet: American Icons
Joffrey Ballet: Eugene Onegin
Joffrey Ballet Reviews
Joffrey Ballet News and Features
Leave a Reply