Joffrey Ballet

Thursday, March 14, 7:30PM, Concert Hall
The Joffrey Ballet, the celebrated Chicago-based dance company, has put together a memorable lineup of works for its national tour.  Luckily for us the tour includes Vaslav Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), the reenactment of a sacrificial fertility rite, which inspired audience members to storm the streets of Paris following its 1913 debut.  Set to the strident, now classic, commissioned Stravinsky score, The Rite of Spring stands as one of the most magnificent musical and dance masterpieces of the twentieth century.

$50, $40, $15; FC, GCC, STCC and 17 & under $10


 

For more information please visit our website at https://fac.umass.edu/online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=DAD007C2-6653-4B92-B11F-5E07B20E8B9C

16 Replies to “Joffrey Ballet”

  1. Loved the first half. The second half was horrible. It made me think of the worms on my bushes that move there heads the same way when you touch their branch. The dancing, if you can call it that, was like Run Liza Run in the King and I. Very disappointing.

  2. It was very exciting to see the Joffrey perform at UMass. I enjoyed the coupling of classical ballet with modern movements that seems to be the trademark of the Joffrey. It was especially exciting to see them perform some newer works, such as the third piece, which they had just performed for the first time this summer at Jacob’s Pillow. Great talent — an amazing performance.

  3. Enjoyed the first half. Found The Rite of Spring as dance to be very disappointing. It wasn’t the performers, just the piece itself. The music is fine, the dance very dated and uninspiring to say the least.

  4. Loved it all – the 2nd half was glorious. Movements so attuned to the music. You could see the value of close collaboration of composer and choreographer.
    Stravinsky and Nijinsky were very visionary and bold.

  5. My favorite was the first dance. I would never have predicted that I’d enjoy a percussive number, let alone love it! Please bring them back as often as you can!

  6. They are obviously marvelous dancers, but I was overall disappointed. Although the interplay of the more modern dance upon the ballet was interesting, I felt the pieces in the first half lacked emotional power. Maybe it was influenced by, what was for me, very dischordant music. The second half was terrible. It reminded me of a poorly-performed folk dance. Seemed amateurish and certainly did not utilize the prowess of the dancers.

  7. Considering all of the hype for Rite of Spring, it was disappointing. Utilization of a lighting plot for the first work would have helped to better create the discordant mood. The piece that I enjoyed the most was after the first intermission – a mixture of lighting, costume, and musical mood prevailed. Not sure if the dancing in the shadows during the first piece was intentional, a mistake due to them not being well acquainted with the confines of the stage, or due to my seating position – guess it is something for dicussion.

  8. The Joffrey Ballet delivered a beautiful performance of modern art. Giving us a view of ballet today followed by the dance that revolutionized dance and music alike. The first half showed the polished artistry we have grown accustomed to in a ballet with an extra flavor that modern dance has brought. Le Sacre du Printemps, the second half of the performance, is a story piece meant to show a less polished and more animalistic side of classical dance, breaking the traditional lines as well as traditional meter, meaning the counts for the dancers were more complicated than any of the other pieces. The savage nature of a fertility rite was beautifully presented in a frightening and strangely intimate way that I thought was beautiful.

  9. Interesting only for it’s history. R of S itself was almost amateurish, even high schoolish if you didn’t know the dancers were part of the Joffrey troupe. I may sound sound stuffy but I’ve seen the best dancers in the world perform Swan Lake, Giselle, La Fille de Mal Gardee and other ballets in Covent Garden, and I have the same response as Parisien ballet goers did in 1913….Where’s Giselle.

  10. I’ve been a fan of the Joffrey company since the 60’s. They’re cutting edge as far as I’m concerned. The program as a whole was innovative, gutsy, gorgeously danced, and I loved it all. I do take exception to some folks calling The Rite of Spring amateurish and a poorly performed folk dance. It was true to the original in all ways and it’s important to recognize it for what it is, rather than comparing it to more modern-day concepts of what we think dance should be. Bravo Joffrey!

  11. Rites of Spring was wonderful, as was the solo in the second dance. Hated the first dance. I guess we all had different ideas!

  12. Thanks to all the offerings of the last three weeks (three films and the pre-performance talk) I was well prepared for the Rite of Spring and I enjoyed the whole program immensely. I was more moved by R of S than I expected to be. The stillness and then the final dance of The Chosen One communicated powerfully even to the mezzanine far in the back where I was seated.

  13. I loved last night’s performance from beginning to end, and was thrilled that I could enjoy these talented artists in my own town. Walking out of the FAC afterwards, I overheard several people complaining that the costumes and movements in Le Sacre du Printemps were based on Native American culture and that it seemed confusing and ill-suited to the music. Indeed, a small sampling cannot indicate how most people perceived the performance. This just points out the need for better education in the fine arts, even for people who support the arts. Thank you UMass FAC for all that you do!

  14. It was thrilling to be treated to world-class ballet talent in our own backyard. The Joffrey was up to its usual standard; and unlike some of the road troupes we see here, they were fresh, energetic, crisp and attuned to technical detail and artistry. As for “Le Sacre du Printemps” the undertaking of reconstructing this groundbreaking ballet for its 100th anniversary is to be applauded. The costumes,sets, and choreography were true to what I had read about it. Nijinski’s revoluntionary vision caused a riot of discontent 100 years ago in a sophisticated City. Evidently, our local audience was not receptive to the opportunity of seeing what paved the way for non-russian-classical music and dance, and rejected historic performance reconstruction. Nijinski, Stravinski creative geniuses of their time, took a big chance, shook up the dance establishment, broke ground for much of what we enjoy in music and dance today. Thank you for a unique opportunity. Don’t cave in to the audience that only accepts “pretty” dancing and mediocre performance. Viva Joffrey, Arpino would be proud.

  15. I loved the Joffrey Ballet performance, especially “Le Sacre du Printemps”. The dancers were terrific. I wish I was able to do what they were doing. They were so strong and flexible.

  16. The whole performance was a treat. (Thank you FAC.)
    I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED THAT THE AUDIENCE DIDN’T GIVE THEM A STANDING OVATION IMMEDIATELY!
    We were gifted a little piece of history in seeing the Nijinsky original of Le Sacre du Printemps. Of course the 1913 audience protested….change is hard for a lot of people, but I was very sad to see that after 100 years, people still don’t get it– how innovative it was on all levels, and how it inspired modern dance and choreography.
    Everything about Son Of Chamber Symphony was brilliant–loved it, and Matthew Adamczyk’s incredible performance of the Mozart was so moving and impassioned.
    The 1st piece was the least enjoyable for me—not because of the dancing, which was stupendous—but because of the music (?!?) I would have enjoyed it much more in silence, or with more interesting sound.
    PLEASE BRING THE JOFFREY BALLET BACK NEXT YEAR!

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