Rich in historical context, “The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.” presents the second version of an esteemed archival collection, first showcased at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in 2024. Now in Chicago—a city Joffrey Ballet calls home—Wrightwood 659 tries its hand at celebrating the remarkable story of Robert Joffrey, his company, dancers and repertoire with Julia Foulkes at its curatorial helm.
The result: a densely situated historical survey plentiful with rare archival footage of formative performances, photographs, costumes and related ephemera. Broken down into six sections, the chosen thematic guidelines craft both a specific narrative about Joffrey—a framework best condensed as who, what, where, when and why—and a generalized recognition of his ensuing contributions to the American dance world. Although viewers are given no specific instructions on how to navigate the exhibition’s spatial arrangement, the broadly chronological and generative structure undoubtedly encourages a single path.
Each zone foregrounded with archival material—selected portions of the enormous Joffrey archive acquired by the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library in 2017—visually marks key moments in the curatorial narrative. Early photographs of Joffrey tell the story of his upbringing and illustrate foundational relationships with individuals like Gerald Arpino, co-founder of the company. Dance posters showcase the troupe’s nascent tours across the United States as well as abroad. Encounters with films of prominent pieces, like “Astarte,” demonstrate wondrous choreography. In every case, however, the thematic constellations unnecessarily deteriorate a superb story by demarcating cursory boundaries with the hope of situating viewers unfamiliar with the show’s content.
Sections like “Who Is Ballet For?” and “What Does a Ballet Company Perform?” describe Joffrey’s emergence into the dance scene while also attempting to contextualize his entrance amidst an antagonistic social and cultural climate. Radically symbolic then for his choices and existence, the Joffrey formulated in the exhibition needlessly becomes whole only through the responsive conditions of the capacious thematic zones. Conditioned out of this dialectic, Joffrey, his dancers, and the company cease to exist as representatives of their imaginary movement and instead offer but a fragment of their true form. It is in placing Joffrey amongst a motley of historical facts, all true and worthwhile, that the glow and allure of ingenuity diminish. That the curatorial construction ultimately belabors the artistry at the show’s cornerstone is perhaps the cruel tension of trying to accommodate a vast audience.
For a show dedicated to exploring the ethos of the company—tenacious, radical, evolutionary—the choreography is awkward. In moments when its adagios should relish in a mercurial amber, its pace quickens and changes direction. At other times, when its petite allegros needily hasten with alacrity, decisions languidly extend. Put on in a city that directly represents the genealogical legacy of Joffrey and the company’s spirit through The Joffrey Ballet, only a small portion of the exhibition is dedicated to the contemporary moment. Perhaps in its New York City iteration, no strident glances or raised eyebrows followed, where performance giants like Alvin Ailey, New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre continue to stand tall, but here in Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet remains a quintessential aspect of creative life. The company, beloved and exuberant, with the enduring artistic affinity bestowed by its predecessors, has evolved; revolutionary motion continues. This spring, under the artistic direction of Ashley Wheater, The Joffrey Ballet will perform “American Icons,” drawing upon works by Joffrey, Arpino and company alum Glen Tetley. Unquestionably, The Joffrey Ballet has not forgotten its past; here, why has the past so willfully turned a blind eye to the present?
Despite the exhibition’s persistent claim that Joffrey, company dancers and repertoire continuously pushed boundaries, viewers must anxiously wait to see if the trend continues. Above all else, this is the toxin of segregating history, a fractured viewing experience that inhibits the ability to find continuity between what once was and what actually is. Unable to be properly traced, stasis acts as the enemy of progress, freezing it in time. Historicizing the past, the exhibition mythologizes a central figure. Today, The Joffrey Ballet remains a forward-thinking institution. But here, there is no forward to be found beyond a scant few unintegrated objects.
Nonetheless, there is little cause for concern; Robert Joffrey lives on, if not in this exhibit, on the stage with his dancers, where his inspirational work was always best witnessed, taking form with pleasure.
“The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.” is on view at Wrightwood 659, 659 West Wrightwood, through December 20.
