Chicago Festival Ballet is a professional ballet company

Ballet company

A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...

 performing a repertoire of classical, romantic and neoclassical works in venues around the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Chicago Festival Ballet is also known as Von Heidecke’s Chicago Festival Ballet. Chicago Festival Ballet’s sister organization and educational arm is the Von Heidecke School of Ballet.

History

In 1989, choreographer Kenneth von Heidecke

Kenneth von Heidecke

Kenneth von Heidecke is an American dancer, choreographer, and the founder and artistic director of Von Heidecke's Chicago Festival Ballet and Von Heidecke School of Ballet.- Dance career:...

 founded Chicago Festival Ballet as a not-for-profit ballet company

Ballet company

A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...

 with a grant from the Chicago Artists' Coalition

Chicago Artists' Coalition

Chicago Artists' Coalition is a non-profit arts advocacy and career organization based in Chicago and open to artists and non-artists alike. Its stated mission is to educate the public as to the value of the visual arts, be an advocate for arts issues, provide professional and educational...

. The company received further support and notoriety from prima ballerina Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...

, who was named Chicago Festival Ballet’s artistic advisor.

Today

Currently, Chicago Festival Ballet consists of professional dancers from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 and Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, with Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...

 continuing as artistic advisor and Kenneth von Heidecke

Kenneth von Heidecke

Kenneth von Heidecke is an American dancer, choreographer, and the founder and artistic director of Von Heidecke's Chicago Festival Ballet and Von Heidecke School of Ballet.- Dance career:...

 as artistic director

Artistic director

An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

. The organization is supported by the Illinois Arts Council

Illinois Arts Council

The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technical assistance to artists, arts organizations, and...

.

Annual traditions include the company’s production of Tchaikovsky’s "The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...

" in multiple theaters in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, including the Rialto Square Theatre

Rialto Square Theatre

The Rialto Square Theatre is a theater in the Joliet, Illinois suburb of Chicago. Opening in 1926, it was originally designed and operated as a vaudeville movie palace, but it now houses mainly musicals, plays, concerts, and standup comedy.It is also available for public and private functions...

, Harris Theater

Harris Theater

The Harris Theater is a landmark building at 809 Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Cultural District.Built as Art Cinema, it was the first Pittsburgh venue to show only "art movies". In the 1960s, however, it featured pornographic films at a time when Liberty Avenue was a...

 in Millennium Park

Millennium Park

Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...

, and the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage

College of DuPage

College of DuPage, or COD, is a two-year community college in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Naperville, West Chicago, and Westmont...

. Springtime brings the company’s presentation of Prokofiev’s “Cinderella

Cinderella

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...

.” Each year, the company takes both productions on tour to different cities throughout the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

School of Ballet

Sister to the Chicago Festival Ballet Company is the Von Heidecke School of Ballet, with studios in Naperville

Naperville, Illinois

Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...

, Joliet

Joliet, Illinois

Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

, and Chicago, Illinois. Under the direction of von Heidecke

Kenneth von Heidecke

Kenneth von Heidecke is an American dancer, choreographer, and the founder and artistic director of Von Heidecke's Chicago Festival Ballet and Von Heidecke School of Ballet.- Dance career:...

, the school provides professional instruction in the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Vaganova method

Vaganova method

The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova . Fusing elements of traditional French technique from the romantic era, with the athleticism and virtuosity of the Italian school, the method is designed to work the body...

 and Balanchine method

Balanchine method

The Balanchine Method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and choreographer George Balanchine and initially used at the New York City Ballet. It requires extreme speed, very deep plie, unconventional arms and hands, and emphasis on lines, especially in decale...

, with curriculum designed for students wishing to pursue a professional career in dance. In 2000, the school was named one of the top four ballet schools in the Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 metro area by Dance Spirit Magazine.

External links

• Chicago Festival Ballet, official website
• Von Heidecke School of Ballet, Naperville location on 41.751700°N 88.115124°W
• Von Heidecke School of Ballet, Joliet location on 41.551046°N 88.158889°W
• Von Heidecke School of Ballet, Chicago location on 41.936078°N 87.664595°W