Dancer Diaries | Winning Works

For the past 15 years, the Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet has presented world premiere works in the culmination of a national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) artists to submit applications for the Winning Works Choreographic Competition. It has grown from 1 to 5 choreographers, and 1 performance to 9 performances. This initiative not only assists burgeoning choreographers' careers but also teaches our students how to work with the different choreographers' unique styles and provides them with a glimpse into company life. 

After each choreographer builds their work on our professional training program students in a two-week residency, their pieces are presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in two weekends of performances.

We gave two students disposable cameras to document their experience performing Winning Works. See their photo diary below.