Choreographer Cathy Marston and the Joffrey Ballet Take ‘Jane Eyre’ From Page To Stage

To conceal that the book’s author was a woman, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was first published in 1847 under a pen name. Choreographer Cathy Marston feels the book was revolutionary: “It truly was groundbreaking for a woman to write about her emotions and station in life with such honesty.”

Digital Pina Bausch Archive Announced

Pina Bausch studied with Antony Tudor, José Limón, Alfredo Corvino, and Paul Taylor, before joining the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company and the New American Ballet.

3 Fresh Musical Events for Your Weekend!

We’re getting ready to share our Summer Music Guide (keep an eye out for it next week), but here are three events happening this weekend, each of which combine or reimagine classical music and dance, that we wanted to be sure to tell you about. The Rosina Project It’s Rossini like you’ve never heard him before. Chicago Fringe Opera teams …

Studs waltzes along with the Newberry Library’s latest dance exhibit

Studs Terkel was known for a lot of things-his Pulitzer Prize-winning oral histories, his seemingly boundless appetite for life, and even his penchant for cigars. One of Studs’ less well-remembered legacies, however, is his tremendous admiration for the art of dance.

Bolshoi Ballet to Return to Chicago After 16 Years

The Bolshoi Ballet is returning to Chicago for the first time in sixteen years. The Russian ballet company will perform at the Auditorium Theatre in June 2020, which will be the only Midwest stop on their United States tour. The Bolshoi Ballet will perform Yuri Grigorovich’s Swan Lake, set to Tchaikovsky’s classic score. Grigorovich, who served as the Bolshoi’s director …

Joffrey’s ‘Anna Karenina’ Features Its First-Ever Commissioned Full-Length Orchestral Score. Here’s What It Sounds Like.

“I believe that Karenina is a magical moment of looking at our beautiful art form and taking it a step forward,” says Ashley Wheater, Joffrey Ballet’s artistic director. One of the cornerstones of the production is 35-year-old composer Ilya Demutsky’s brand new, full-length orchestral score, the first such commission in Joffrey’s 62-year history.

Joffrey Ballet Announces 2019/20 Season

The season features four Chicago premieres and the return of two reimagined staples.

Joffrey’s ‘Swan Lake’ Launches a New Season of Ballet and Music

Joffrey Ballet’s artistic director, Ashley Wheater, and music director, Scott Speck, discuss “Swan Lake,” Joffrey’s 2018-19 season, and ballet’s unique and rich creative relationship with music.

Paul Taylor, giant of modern dance, dead at 88 in New York

Taylor kept working well into his 80s, venturing into his company’s Manhattan studios from his Long Island home to choreograph two new pieces a year.

Teenagers in Chicago Can Now Attend Live Music, Dance, Theater for Just $5. Here’s How.

From the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to Lyric Opera of Chicago and much more, the Teen Arts Pass is making it easier for young people to have access to Chicago’s many great cultural institutions.

6 Composers Who Immigrated to the United States and Called Los Angeles Home

Ever since its founding, the United States of America has been a melting pot of peoples. Here are 6 composers who came to the United States and called Los Angeles their home.

Playlist: 14 Fantastic French Composers You Might Not Know (But You Should!)

Here are just a few of our many favorite French composers, from medieval to modern, that might be new to you.

VIDEO | Watch this Chinese opera artist transform into a Dragon Princess – in seconds

Getting into full costume and makeup to perform Chinese operas takes hours. You can see an artist from Chongqing Chuanju Opera Theatre transform herself in seconds.

Inside the Score: Adolphe Adam’s Giselle

Joffrey’s Scott Speck, who co-authored Classical Music for Dummies, explains how music helps to tell the stories you see on stage.

Lyric Opera, Blu Rhythm Collective Honor Slain Chicago Teen Kevin Ambrose with Song, Dance, and Spoken Word

Kevin Ambrose, a theater student at Columbia College, loved to perform ever since he was a child, explained his mother Ebony. “I kind of grew up on Columbia’s campus, because my mom worked there,” Ebony said, “so I also grew up around the arts and always loved it. When it came time for me to have kids, I wanted them …

This Breakdance Duet to Chopin’s ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu’ Will Send You Spinning

When Frédéric Chopin composed his Fantaisie-Impromptu, he probably didn’t expect for the work to serve as the music for a breakdance duet. But at Arabesque 2014, an international ballet competition hosted by the Perm Ballet Opera Theatre, one entry in the “modern choreography” category used Fantaisie-Impromptu for just that purpose. Fantaisie-Impromptu was written in 1834, but it wasn’t published until …

Why the Beats of Bomba and Plena are as Essential to Puerto Rican Culture as Beans and Rice

Arroz con gandules – a version of beans and rice using pigeon peas – is a staple of Puerto Rican cuisine. Because the dish is so affordable to prepare, it nourishes people from all walks of life and economic backgrounds. Bomba and plena, two forms of Puerto Rican folk music, have similarly nourished the commonwealth by uplifting working-class narratives and …

“Females Disrupting The Tap World” Explore Dance, Art, and Gender with New “Hansel and Gretel”

For jorsTap Chicago, a company that describes itself as “females disrupting the tap world,” dance functions not only as a storytelling medium but as a way to create safe spaces. The company’s latest project is a gender-inclusive re-telling of Hansel and Gretel created in collaboration with multimedia artist David Lee Csicsko. The original tale of a brother and sister who …

Harris Theater for Music and Dance Brings ‘Epic Masterworks’ to Chicago in 2017-18 Season

The newly announced season features the Monteverdi Choir, American Ballet Theatre, and the Mark Morris Dance Group performing “epic masterworks.”

Video: What Choreographer Justin Peck Listens for When Picking Music for Dance

Renowned choreographer Justin Peck took a break from his rehearsals with the Joffrey Ballet to explain what he listens for when selecting music to choreograph.

Lyric, Joffrey Announce First Collaboration with 17/18 Season Opener

John Neumeier, director and chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet, directs, choreographs, and designs the production.

A Sneak Peek of Joffrey’s New Nutcracker Set During Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893

Dancer Anastacia Holden reflected that “as an artist, we’re always looking for new challenges, because they make us grow. It’s always great to do a new work and see a fresh take on this traditional holiday story.”

How Choreographer Martha Graham Named Aaron Copland’s American Classic, “Appalachian Spring”

Martha Graham Dance Company’s Lloyd Mayor and Mariya Dashkina Maddux in “Appalachian Spring.” (Hibbard Nash Photography) When you think of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, do you think of iconic American landscapes? Would it surprise you to know that one of America’s most iconic musical works got its name after it was composed? Appalachian Spring, though perhaps known best as an orchestral suite, was …

The Surprising Politics of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet

“The last time we did this production, you could hear that people were really upset by it. And yet, there is absolutely beautiful choreography — it’s absolutely stunning.”

Sono Osato, 96, Reflects on Dancing With the Ballet Russes

“I think I am one of the few American dancers who ever saw the Diaghilev ballet at the peak of its glory,” Sono Osato begins her autobiography Distant Dances. At the ripe age of 14, Osato became the first American dancer to join the Ballet Russes de Monte-Carlo, derived from Diaghilev’s famous Ballets Russes. With the company, she toured the …