The summer after I turned 7, I started taking ballet lessons from Laurie Picinich-Byrd at The Florida Ballet at Jacksonville. After my first summer intensive, Miss Byrd called my mom into a meeting to tell her she didn’t think I wanted to be there. “She talks too much and was a distraction to the other […]
Last year, the Joffrey Ballet premiered a brand-new Nutcracker, retiring Robert Joffrey’s original production. It was a big deal—it cost $4 million to create, and celebrated choreographer Christopher Wheeldon was at the helm. Now, a year later—and just in time for the holidays, so you can get your Nutcracker fix from in front of your […]
Dance for Life Chicago, an annual benefit concert for HIV/AIDS and other critical health issues, celebrates its 25th anniversary at Roosevelt University’s Auditorium Theatre on August 20. Chicago dance companies, including Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Giordano Dance Chicago, will perform. “The really beautiful thing about Dance for Life is that it draws […]
Yesterday, Joffrey Ballet live-streamed three hours of Swan Lake rehearsal with Christopher Wheeldon. And lucky for us, the whole session is now posted on the company’s YouTube channel. You’d think this would be a chance to get a sneak peak of the performance—and it is—but the most interesting parts happen between the dancing moments. It’s fascinating to […]
Christina Rocas, like any young ballerina, started out trying to dance like her teacher. Before joining the Joffrey Ballet in 2005, Rocas was part of Ballet Manila in the Philippines, where she tried to imitate the way her teacher, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, moved. After Macuja-Elizalde helped her find a place with the Joffrey, Rocas began to […]