“Carmen,” starring choreography by Liam Scarlett, continues to Sept. 28 at The Lyric Opera House in Chicago. Scarlett is also the choreographer of the acclaimed ballet “Frankenstein.”
The story of “Carmen” revolves around a seductive gypsy named Carmen, who causes mayhem in the life of soldier Don Jose, leading to a complicated love triangle, destructive relationships and tragedy.
With the Joffrey Ballet at the helm of this story, this theatrical production soars with skillful and dynamic dance moves. The musical score by Georges Bizet shines as well.
Starring as Carmen in the Joffrey’s opening night production was Victoria Jaiani, who offered a passionate, sultry and engaging performance. Dancers Alberto Velazquez as Don Jose and Dylan Gutierrez, as the bullfighter Escamillo, proved powerful in their roles as they executed energetic leaps, turns and other dynamic dance moves.
Kudos to the entire troupe for its terrific performance throughout the full-length ballet. The Joffrey Ballet never fails to draw audiences in with their adept performances.
FYI: “Carmen,” by The Joffrey Ballet, continues to Sept. 28 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 North Upper Wacker Drive, Chicago. Visit joffrey.org.
About Eloise Marie Valadez
Guest blogger Eloise Marie Valadez, a frequent contributor to Travel/Food, is a professional journalist/writer and editor with four decades of experience covering the arts, entertainment, and culinary industries. A native of Chicago, she has a passion for the written word.
Top photo: Victoria Jaiani stars in The Joffrey Ballet’s “Carmen.” Photo by Cheryl Mann.
The Joffrey Ballet has another winner on its hands. The esteemed ballet company is presenting “Alice’s Advenures in Wonderland” at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago. The production continues to June 22.
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” based on Lewis Carroll’s famous tale, is expertly choreographed by the talented Christopher Wheeldon. Wheeldon is also the choreographer of The Joffrey Ballet’s popular “The Nutcracker.”
The troupe is at the top of its game, as it always is, with this production. The dance moves are exceptional, the costumes and sets are colorful and the use of puppetry and other theatrical props are fantastic.
While the Joffrey members are lauded dancers they are also talented in the acting department.
Among dancers in key roles in the production are Amanda Assucena as Alice; Stefan Goncalvez as White Rabbit; Victoria Jaiani as Mother/Queen of Hearts; Edson Barbosa as Magician/Mad Hatter; Dylan Gutierrez as the Duchess and Alberto Velazquez as Jack/Knave of Hearts. The score of “Alice” is also noteworthy for its blend of beautiful and innovative sounds.
It would be nice if The Joffrey would bring this stellar piece back again soon.
FYI: THE Joffrey Ballet presents “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago through June 22. Visit joffrey.org.
About Eloise Marie Valadez
Guest blogger Eloise Marie Valadez, a frequent contributor to Travel/Food, is a professional journalist/writer and editor with four decades of experience covering the arts, entertainment, and culinary industries. A native of Chicago, she has a passion for the written word.
The 15th annual “Winning Works” program presented by The Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet runs through March 23 at the museum’s Edlis Neeson Theater. The program showcases the dances of artists who submitted their works in the annual choreographic competition which spotlights ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists.
Five world premieres star on the program which features dancers from the Joffrey Studio Company, Joffrey Ballet Conservatory and trainees. The works presented are surely standouts. All five are creative, innovative and are performed by skilled young artists.
The works that star on the show roster are “Lusi” by Alejandro Perez; “Jive Five” by Shota Miyoshi; “Bereshit” by Karley Childress; “Soulcry” by Roderick George; and “Seachange” by Keelan Whitmore. Each work is choreographed to special musical pieces by composers who worked specifically with the choreographers.
Dancers are seen in the work “Jive Five.”
Prior to each work being performed, video clips of interviews with each choreographer and dancers who perform the works provide a good background for understanding each dance. This show definitely proves there are a great number of up-and-coming choreographers emerging on the scene today.
The Museum of Contemporary Art
FYI: “Winning Works” runs through March 23 at The Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Visit joffrey.org.
About Eloise Marie Valadez
Guest blogger Eloise Marie Valadez, a frequent contributor to Travel/Food, is a professional journalist/writer and editor with four decades of experience covering the arts, entertainment, and culinary industries. A native of Chicago, she has a passion for the written word.
“Golden Hour,” which continues to March 2, is being presented at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The program “Golden Hour” offers an engaging mixed repertoire blending works that stand out for their blend of beautiful choreography, dramatic movement and plenty of humor at times.
The dancers in the company prove skilled artists in whatever work they tackle.
In “Golden Hour,” the Joffrey shines in four works. Among the highlighted presentations is “Under The Trees Voices” with choreography by Nicolas Blanc. The piece, which features skilled and modern choreography, was created in memory of Blanc’s grandfather.
Showing the whimsical side of the Joffrey is the “Princess and the Pea,” starring choreography by Dani Rowe. It’s quite a humorous take on the fairy tale that showcases the company’s dancers’ sharp acting talents.
Chicago’s Black Ensemble Theater announces its 2022 Season of Excellence: The Season of Healings with four World Premiere musicals showcasing the power of healing, each featuring different journeys and a variety of genres including gospel, spiritual, soul, jazz, hip-hop, blues, the sounds of the Harlem Renaissance, and more. All performances will be held at the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center. The first musical, It’s Just Like Coming to Church, will run from March 20-April 24, 2022.
Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of contemporary and re-imagined opera, proudly presents the World Premiere of the newly commissioned opera Quamino’s Map. Set in post-Revolutionary War England, the work sheds light on the oft-overlooked moment in history when London was the unlikely refuge for thousands of Black Americans who fought for their liberty on the side of the British. Quamino’s Map, the final production of the COT 2021-22 season, will be staged at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building for three performances only: April 23, 29 and May 1, 2022.
On May 29, 2022, the concert Aretha Rising will pay tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, as Maestro Speck conducts Broadway star Capathia Jenkins. The program will include Respect, Think, A Natural Woman, Chain of Fools, Amazing Grace, and many more.
The North American tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, winner of 10 Tony Awards – including Best Musical,will play at the James M. Nederlander Theatre, with performances running from March 19-May 14, 2022.
After taking Broadway by storm, SIX makes a triumphant return to Chicago this spring at the CIBC Theatre from March 29-July 3, 2022. From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the mic to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st-century girl power!
THE PROM is a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world and the love they discover that unites them all, comes to the Cadillac Palace Theatre from April 19-24, 2022.
Go behind the music and inside the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in the Tony and Grammy Award-winning true-life musical phenomenon, Jersey Boys, will play at the Cadillac Palace Theatre from May 3-8, 2022.
All rise for Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork To Kill a Mockingbird, which will play from May 17-29, 2022 at the James M. Nederlander Theatre.
Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific, The King and I and 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece Fiddler on the Roof, from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Performances will run from May 17 – 22, 2022 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
All’s Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare’s vivid exploration of courtship and class comes to new life in the uniquely intimate setting of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Courtyard Theaterfrom April 22-May 29, 2022, staged by acclaimed director Shana Cooper. Besotted with a man who does not return her love, the intelligent, resourceful young Helena navigates the complexities of unrequited romance, courtly drama, and the meddling of elders—only to discover the reality that happy endings are never quite as simple as they seem in fairy tales.
InGood Night Oscar, Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) stars as the irrepressible Oscar Levant. Good Night, Oscar explores the nexus of humor and heartbreak, the ever-dwindling distinction between exploitation and entertainment, and the high cost of baring one’s soul for public consumption. Playing at Goodman’s Albert Theatre, from March 12 – April 17, 2022.
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet kicks off its first performances of 2022 with a spring double-bill featuring Cathy Marston’s world premiere adaptation of Of Mice and Men (April 27-May 8, 2022), Steinbeck’s tender tale of friendship, perseverance, and sacrifice, with an original score by Academy Award®-nominated composer Thomas Newman, along with the Joffrey premiere of George Balanchine’s Serenade, the choreographer’s first ballet created in America in 1934.
Lyric Opera of chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago’ new-to-Chicago production of Tosca by Giacomo Puccini will run March 12-April 10, 2022, followed by Fire Shut Up in My Bones, playing March 24-April 8, 2022, based on New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s widely acclaimed memoir of his traumatic youth growing up in Louisiana. With an amazing collection of talent – composer Terence Blanchard, librettist Kasi Lemmons and a top-flight cast including many of America’s most brilliant singing actors – Fire Shut Up in My Bones is an opera for today, revealing the Black experience in this country as few other operas have done.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
The celebrated Steppenwolf Theatre Company returns after a 20-month intermission, with the opening of the $54 million Liz and Eric Lefkofsky Arts and Education Center, which includes the Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, an intimate state-of-the-art 400-seat theater in the round, and is topped off by The Loft, an arts and education center for young performers
The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Porchlight’s production of Spring Awakening (April 23-May 29, 2022) tells the timeless story of youthful self-discovery and budding sexuality as seen through the eyes of three teenagers in provincial late 19th-century Germany.
Additionally, Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Center Theatre Group will present the world premiere of the highly anticipated King James by ensemble member Rajiv Joseph, running from March 3-April 10, 2022. “King” LeBron James’s reign in Cleveland brings promise, prosperity and renewal to a city in desperate need of all three. It also brings together two childhood friends who communicate best when they are talking and arguing about the star player’s impact on Cleveland, from his rookie season to the city’s historic championship. Though LeBron James is never seen in the show, King James is an intimate exploration of the symbolic place that sports and athletes occupy in our emotional lives and relationships.
Chicago Opera Theater’s world premiere of Quamino’s Mapin April 2022, followed by the world premiere of new musical Skates (from May 24-August 28, 2022). Also returning to the Studebaker stage next year are performances from Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and Chicago Jazz Orchestra.
Teatro ZinZanni is back with a brand-new show starring veteran performer, Frank Ferrante. An experience unlike any other, Teatro ZinZanni is a whirlwind of international cirque, comedy and cabaret, with world-class acrobats, musicians, divas, illusionists, madmen, and aerialists filling the intimate Spiegeltent ZaZou, a unique jewel box mirror tent located in the heart of Chicago’s Downtown Theater District. Tickets can be purchased with or without the featured four-course gourmet feast including a fabulous à la carte cocktail menu, wine & beer list, and special occasion treats.
Windy City Playhouse
SONS OF HOLLYWOOD will be the Windy City Playhouse’s first production back at their flagship location (3014 W. Irving Park Rd.), running from January 26 – April 17, 2022. At the start of the 1920s when Hollywood brimmed with risqué films, enormous parties, and glamorous opening nights, silent film stars Ramon Navarro and William Haines enjoyed life as Hollywood royalty. But when the Motion Picture Production Code brings an end to the no-holds-barred attitude of Hollywood and its acceptance of its gay stars, both men are forced to grapple with their identity in a suddenly oppressive world. Audiences will find themselves immersed in the lavish and dramatic world of a film come to life with a signature 360-degree design and two types of seating: “House” (movie-theater style) and “Top Shelf” (swivel, club-style chair).
Year of Chicago Dance
In partnership with the local dance community, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Commissioner Erin Harkey have just announced the designation of 2022 as the “Year of Chicago Dance”, a yearlong collaborative initiative which will activate Chicago’s dance industry to address critical issues facing dancers and showcase dance performances, social dancing, and special events for the public in dozens of venues throughout the city.
Ensemble Espanol, a premier dance company originating from Albany Park gears up for it’s spring performance at Dominican University, April 23, 2022 7:30 PM. The program includes the critically acclaimed “Danza del Fuego” (Dance of Fire) choreographed by the Ensemble’s founder, Dame Libby Komaiko, to the music of Ruiz de Luna in the Neo-Classical (Flamenco and Classical) styles. The program also features the Flamenco full company work “No Me Olvides” (No Not Forget Me) by artistic director, Irma Suarez Ruiz, along with her full company classical work, “Balle de Luis Alonso” (Dance of Luis Alonso) to the music of Geronimo Gimenez. Other highlights of the program include “Al Golpe” (To the Beat) and “Ritmo de la Tierra” (Rhythm of the Earth) choreographed by Nino de los Reyes, the first dancer to ever win a Grammy.
Get up and groove with Mandala Arts, the South Loop neighborhood’s cultural gem, specializing in South Asian dance and offering a variety of dance classes year around. Their newest offering, Seniors Dance & Movement, is a virtual fitness class for all with simple and energizing stretches. Dance and movement are set to nostalgic Bollywood grooves. Inspired by iconic South Asian folk and classical dance traditions and designed to keep bodies and minds limber and uplifted. Movements can be done from a seated or standing position.
