Ravinia 2021 - Issue 4

The Joffrey Ballet returns to Ravinia with a collection of works showcasing both the wide range of choreography and costuming styles the company brings to the stage as well as the diverse styles of music it performs to. Beyond the Shore (above) features a large ensemble of dancers clad in bodysuits and orchestral-electronica music by former Chicago Symphony composer in residence Mason Bates, while The Sofa (right) has a casually dressed cast of three dancing with a large prop sofa and Ma]] inɷected Pusic from the early years of gravelly singer- songwriter Tom Waits. CHER<L MANN (3RE9I28S S3READ 7HIS 3AGE) American Dance Theater. Ravinia also commissioned the famed African American choreographer Bill T. Jones to create a dance-theater work cele- brating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. The Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company pre- miered the ambitious creation, Fondly Do We Hope ... Fervently Do We Pray , in 2009 and subsequently toured it extensively. The New York City Ballet’s visits are notable both for their longevi- ty—1959 through 1972—and for their dazzling lineups of featured stars, including Jacques d’Amboise, Suzanne Farrell, Melissa Hayden, Allegra Kent, Patricia McBride, Arthur Mitchell, Maria Tallchief, and Edward Villella. In addition, it was those visits that apparently led George Balanchine, the company’s legendary artistic director, to consult on the “sprung-floor” stage for the festival’s present-day Pavilion, which was designed by the Chicago firm of Holabird & Root and opened in 1970. Unfortunately, little is record- ed of his exact contributions. “What’s great about the Pavilion is that the sight lines are really good,” Wheater says, “and it has a really good capac- ity. In terms of an open-air stage, it’s big enough, wide enough, and deep enough to do a pretty substantial amount of [dance] rep.” Joffrey’s first appearance was in 1972, long before it was based in Chicago, and it became something of regular, appearing each year through 1979. But performances in recent years have been more sporadic—just five times since 2000. In addition to helping fulfill Haydon’s wish to put a renewed accent on dance, the company’s appearance this year is part of the Ravinia leader’s desire to more frequently collaborate with other prominent Chicago-area cultural institutions. “Yes, we’re bringing in the best from all over the world,” he says, “but we also have the best in the world here in Chicago. How can we make that part of Ravinia’s program as well?” Haydon saw this collaboration and others like it as especially important in the aftermath of the monthslong RAVINIA MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 14