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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