About the event:

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center is pleased to present a new large-scale exhibition, The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S. Despite The Joffrey Ballet’s size and cultural impact, it has received scant scholarly attention to date. However, in 2017, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division acquired the entire Joffrey archive—the largest acquisition for The New York Public Library in a decade.

Starting September 19, 2024, the Library for the Performing Arts will mount the first large-scale retrospective of the company, leveraging the treasures of the Joffrey archive for the very first time. The exhibition will next be mounted in the company’s hometown of Chicago at Wrightwood 659 in Fall 2025.

About Your Guide:

Kathleen Leary is the Arnhold Dance Education Coordinator at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. She embarked on her second career as an educator after her successful first as a costume designer for theater, dance, and film.

Photo Credits

Header Image:
The Joffrey Ballet Company, 1996. Adapted from a Dance Magazine design which originally appeared in the May 1996 issue of Dance Magazine. Reproduced with permission from Dance Magazine. Photograph by Herbert Migdoll © Joffrey Ballet. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

1. Kathleen Thielhelm and Fabrice Calmels in a pose from George Balanchine’s Apollo in front of Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, Millennium Park, Chicago, 2006. Photograph by Herbert Migdoll © Joffrey Ballet. Courtesy of The Joffrey Ballet
2. Joffrey Ballet poster featuring Trinity, 1978. Photograph by Herbert Migdoll © Joffrey Ballet. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
3. Deuce Coupe, 1973. Photograph by Herbert Migdoll © Joffrey Ballet. Jerome Robbins Dance Division
4. The Joffrey at Wolftrap, Virginia, c. 1970s. Photograph by Herbert Migdoll © Joffrey Ballet. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.