What I’ve learned: Sarah Hay

Sarah Hay

By Olivia Lee Medill Reports At 32 years old, Sarah Hay has become an accomplished ballerina and actress. As a child, she danced at the prestigious School of American Ballet. She later trained at American Ballet Theatre, and at the age of 22, she joined the Semperoper Ballett in Germany. In 2010, she made her […]

Joffrey ballerina Olivia Tang-Mifsud talks about ballet and the 2020 season

Olivia Tang-Mifsud

By Olivia Lee Medill Reports After over 30 performances of “The Nutcracker,” the Joffrey Ballet’s 46 dancers, including Olivia Tang-Mifsud, 23, of Palos Verdes, California, are learning new choreography. Following rehearsal, Tang-Mifsud traded her black leotard and tights for jeans and a white sweater. She sat with perfect posture in the lobby and talked about […]

Flesh-tone tights empower ballet dancers of color

By Eunice Wang Medill Reports A simple leotard and pink tights are the typical uniform for many ballet dancers when they train. It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years to the origin of ballet in Europe. As with many other traditions, however, the times, they are a changin’. Dancers of color have started […]

Hiplet: The Baby of Modern and Classical Ballet

By Eunice Wang Medill Reports Hiplet, the fusion of hip-hop and ballet, started back in 1990 as Homer Hans Bryant’s rap ballet. As a dance teacher, Homer has always been fascinated by classical ballet and what dancers can do en pointe. Homer wanted to give back to his community by teaching kids of color the […]

Christmas comes early at the Chicago Cultural Center

By Kelly Calagna The Chicago Cultural Center came alive Sunday with the sounds of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker.  About 500 little ballerinas took over the grand ball room in a free public event made possible by the volunteer efforts of Ballet Chicago and the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band. The tutu’ed participants received a ballet lesson, […]

The Joffrey’s Romeo and Juliet highlights 2016’s political divide

By Lauren Ball With America  in the midst of a political season rife with conflict, confrontation, and discord,  the Joffrey Ballet’s  contemporary interpretation of Romeo and Juliet  is overwhelmingly opportune. Watching the two contending forces of the fascist Capulets and leftist Montagues magnetize their differences and recoil,  it’s impossible not to compare the performance to […]