Dance Companies
The Joffrey is a world-class, Chicago-based ballet company and dance education organization committed to artistic excellence and innovation, presenting a unique repertoire encompassing masterpieces of the past and cutting-edge works. The Joffrey is committed to providing arts education and accessible dance training through its Joffrey Academy of Dance and Community Engagement programs.
We are a Chicago-based dance company that values making intelligent, visually rich dance theater driven by inquiry. We ground our inquiry in contemporary issues and the history of art and ideas, toward our pursuit of bold, exacting and potent physicality.
Under Carrie Hanson’s direction, the company is committed to bringing audiences an expanded experience of dance that ignites thought and understanding of real-world issues. With dance at the center of the work, the company’s vision extends to a total action and environment and includes collaboration with practitioners in fields as diverse as architecture, installation, video, sound, and fashion.With full-length works on pressing issues, such as the recent economic recession and the ongoing climate change debate, they have built a reputation for “well-crafted and researched works that don’t hold forth a political agenda, but look instead at how these towering issues reflect back on our own humanity” (New City, which named The Seldoms Best Local Dance Company in 2012).
University Ballet of Chicago is a student-run ballet company affiliated with the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. We proudly offer classical ballet training and performance opportunities for dancers of diverse backgrounds and abilities.
UBallet is an expert in storytelling. Our past performances — from the modern Spartacus to the opulent Sleeping Beauty — have been filled with characters delicate and cute, royal and grotesque. We strive to bring stories alive through both classical movement and heartfelt theatricality. Our shows have delighted audiences of all ages and levels of familiarity with dance for more than a decade.
We invite you to attend our free adult ballet classes, which are held in Ida Noyes Hall on the UChicago campus. Twice a year in the fall and late winter, we hold auditions for our semiannual productions. All who audition are cast.
Founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Nick Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago is a contemporary dance company dedicated to a bold and progressive world of movement. In less than three years, the company has developed a diverse and respected repertoire. With works by distinguished choreographers Sidra Bell, Mónica Cervantes, Marguerite Donlon, Brian Enos, Robyn Mineko Williams, Banning Bouldin, Harrison McEldowney, Fernando Melo, Ohad Naharin, and Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago continues to challenge audiences’ expectations. In January of 2015, Visceral Dance Chicago was named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch, recognizing the company’s accomplishments and potential in the national community. “Visceral Dance Chicago breathes life into the Chicago arts community with their ability to intertwine complex human emotions with the raw beauty of dance and physical movement.” (Chicago Stage Standard)
WADOMA blends African, American and other global art forms to create a one-of-a-kind spectacle of movement and sound, educating and inspiring people through the universal experience of music and dance.