PicksInSix Review: Beyond the Blue Line - Chicago Repertory Ballet

“A Mesmerizing Master Class in Movement”
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

A powerful dance performance can pause time. Meaning, when dancers execute a riveting piece with expert control and grace, the rest of the world fades away leaving you completely absorbed in the present. The dancers tell the stories, carry emotions, and create connections. To capture this on stage is to capture the beauty of the human condition with the added luxury of time standing still. I believe the brief run of the Chicago Repertory Ballet’s 2026 Spring Series accomplished this impressive feat and in turn, offered a real gift to those who attended.

The 2026 Spring Series opened with the world premiere of “Beyond the Blue Line,” a bright and uplifting contemporary ballet choreographed by Yanis Erik Pikieris and performed by the full CRB company. Set to music by Michael Torke, “Beyond the Blue Line” featured intricate movements and rippling formations that the Company delivered with warmth and curiosity. The piece draws its inspiration from the horizon line where sea meets sky, but with the Blue Line also being a Chicago “L” line, the piece had me thinking “this must be what a hopeful, pleasant commute looks like.”

Next, Chicago Repertory Ballet performed the world premiere of Founding Artistic Director Wade Schaaf’s “Pulse: ILTJ1101.” This neo-classical ballet set to a pulsing techno soundtrack absolutely sizzled with delicious, dark, and moody lighting design by David-Goodman Edberg. Imagine a powerfully precise and emotive ballet dropped into the middle of a vampire night club (think of the opening scene of Blade (1998)). The dancers moved through electric partnered work with weightlessness and charisma. A nearly flawless execution of a seriously cool and innovative piece.

The Chicago Repertory Ballet’s 2026 Spring Series then closed with the revival of Schaaf’s “Rite of Spring,” which is a reimagining of the ballet and orchestral concert work by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. The Ballet Russes first performed “Rite of Spring” in 1913, and Schaaf’s production originally premiered 100 years later in 2013. This particular revival featured in the 2026 Spring Series reshapes an outdoor version performed by the Chicago Repertory Ballet in 2021.

Restaged for the more intimate Ruth Page Center for the Arts, this “Rite of Spring” relentlessly coursed through a tribal ritual that leads to fatal outcomes. The dancers both beautifully and eerily conveyed intensity, tension, and fear as the piece heightens with Stravinsky’s powerful score. The cast of characters, Miriam-Rose LeDuc, Alberto Andrade, Rachel Schmidt and Haley Baker really pulled the audience into the story and maintained breathtaking technique throughout.

All in all, the Chicago Repertory Ballet’s 2026 Spring Series captivated from start to finish. The program pushed boundaries with elegance and fluidity and showcased the unstoppable energy of a very talented company. Looking forward to what’s next.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Utilities Bureau of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

PHOTO|Dean Paul

Chicago Repertory Ballet
Beyond The Blue Line
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
May 29-31, 2026

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PicksInSix Review: Midsummer Night's Dream - The Joffrey Ballet

WHAT A WEIRD AND REMARKABLE DREAM
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Kaitlyn Linsner

Sometimes, a once clear line between dream and reality will blur. A fantastic and boundless dreamscape may blend into everyday surroundings causing tired eyes confusion as they awake and search for clarity in the recognizable. This uncertainty might conjure up an unease followed by an urge to ascribe meaning to the dream and the desire to still be in it. How chaotic and beautiful. Then, an alarm goes off. Time to start another day.

This is perhaps the best way to describe the immersive experience of The Joffrey Ballet’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” staged at the Lyric Opera House through May 5, 2024. The Joffrey Ballet first premiered “Midsummer Night’s Dream” by internationally renowned Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman in 2018. Now, the talented company closes its 2023-2024 season with its masterful return and by daring Chicago audiences to get real weird with it.

The first of two acts begins with a Dreamer (Dylan Gutierrez) in his bed seemingly dreaming before he awakens and joins a Hostess (Victoria Jaiani) for the Midsummer festivities. The curtains open to a visually stunning piece where the company dances amidst hay tossing up pieces in joyous synchronicity. The first act continues to weave through the summer solstice with rhythmic choreography around the maypole and a striking piece at a long communal dining table. The original lighting design by Linus Fellbom and recreated by Chris Maravich enchantingly transitions scenes from day to night before helping the audience later sink into the surreal in act two.

Ekman’s choreography blends classical and contemporary ballet. There’s freedom, fluidity and sheer fun that fills the stage throughout the production. The company connects seamlessly with each other, the set (Ekman) and the audience despite the massive size of the stage. They reflect dream-like scenarios through slow and precise movements and sprawl throughout the theater as both actual persons and shadowy figures on the walls. It is truly a vision.

The second act starts much like the first but quickly spirals into the large-scale absurdity of a wild dream. With widened eyes, audience members watch fleeting scenes of Headless men (Edson Barbosa and Davide Oldano) contorting on stage, floating tables, fish and bodies. The frenzy is magical to witness. Yet, one of the most impressive pieces in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” springs from a rare moment of tranquility amidst the dreamscape chaos. Adorned in sleepwear button downs, the women command an intoxicating beat and traverse the stage with stirring power and grace toward the end of the second act.

From start to finish, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a vivid celebration of love, dance, theatrics and wit. It blurs the lines between dream and reality and in doing so showcases the brilliance of leaning into imagination and sheer creativity. A must see.  

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | KAITLYN LINSNER is a Chicago-based attorney practicing construction and surety law.

PHOTO|Cheryl Mann

The Joffrey Ballet
presents
Midsummer Night’s Dream
Lyric Opera House
through May 5, 2024

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