Joffrey Ballet’s current program Golden Hour is literally the best reason I know to be in Chicago in February. There is something for everyone from lush abstract works with delicious dancing and compositional brilliance, to a fabulous new work featuring my favorite ballerina, to a premiere of a dashing and ironic and visually stunning story ballet for all ages: “The Princess and the Pea”.
The program starts with Under the Trees’ Voices choreographed by Nicolas Blanc who also did the androgynous costumes, with wondrous sculptural leaves and lighting by Jack Mehler. Created during the pandemic there is a wistful elegiac quality to the ballet, but what makes this unforgettable is the movement vocabulary that incorporates gesture and weight sharing with eye catching patterns that replicate and recalibrate in a mathematical rhythm that is intriguing and calming. The speed of the footwork is matched by the devilishly quick baton of guest conductor Robert McConnell who leads a full Lyric Opera Orchestra through Ezio Bosso’s heartfelt score.This work deserves multiple watchings.
Next we have Cathy Marston’s retro Heimat which depicts a rarity: a functional family that seems to enjoy each other. Inspired by Wagner’s score for Siegfried Idyll, it is beautifully danced and acted by Olivia Duryea as the Mother, Dylan Gutierrez as the Father and Amanda Assucena, José Pablo Castro Cuevas and Yumi Kanazwa as the siblings. The delightful circular structure lends an aspirational and nostalgic air to this short ballet.
Yuri Possokhov’s new ballet Andante premiered next: a showcase for Victoria Jaiani, Alberto Velazquez and Xavier Núñez to Dmitri Shostakovich’s second piano concerto. Celebrating Jaiani’s two decades with the Joffrey, the work takes advantage of her extension and line and her ethereal athleticism. There were auditory sighs in the theatre at the partnering.
The program finishes with the truly wild and colorful Princess and the Pea by Dani Rowe to music by James Stephenson and the wry humor and empowering message of living one own’s truth comes from a libretto by Rowe and Garen Scribner. Nerdy suited narrator Dylan Gutierrez lays out the rules of PeaTown where a dictator princess (Basia Rhoden) has banished all other vegetables and limited everyone’s lifestyle choices. Pea (Annabelle d la Nuez),a young lady with two dads and a dislike of peas, comes to challenge the status quo. The vibrantly colored costumes and surreal scenic design by Emma Kingsbury make this a ballet you need to see to believe and may have you running out to acquire bright green plaids and a leek hat. It’s camp and hip and filled with marvels, and everyone from a toddler who hates veggies to cranky grandpa will love this instant classic of a ballet.
As with all Joffrey offerings, you only have two weekends to see this magic running through March 2 at the Civic Opera House at 20 North Wacker Drive in Chicago, so run do not walk to book here: https://joffrey.org/performances-and-tickets/24-25-season/golden-hour/
Photo by Cheryl Mann
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