The Joffrey Gives Back

“The Joffrey Gives Back”
Joffrey Tower
10 E. Randolph Street
1/11/13

The Joffrey, Chicago’s own world-class ballet company, committed to artistic excellence and known for a unique repertoire, recently proved its stellar reputation by hosting one very special midday event. In celebration of one of their latest creations, the Joffrey has full-heartedly opened its doors to the public to experience their “Keep Fit Ballet” class. Kim Sagami, a former Joffrey dancer of 14 years, is now on faculty and an instructor at Joffrey. “’Keep Fit Ballet’ is a combination of pilates & ballet and you condense it into an hour long class,” explains Kim. She continued, “Because of this location, it’s right in downtown Chicago, there’s a lot of people during their lunch hour that want to exercise and this offers that opportunity.”

Along with a good handful of curious non-dancer Chicagoans, Joffrey also extended a special invite to a group of participants currently taking part in a 90-Day Breakthrough program with Healthy Initiative. The founder of the not-for-profit organization, Shea Vaughn, explains, “We have 40 participants that are in this program (Healthy Initiative) to fight obesity, heart disease, certain kinds of cancer. So, we’re here today to do ballet and show them (the participants) they don’t have to get bored with their workouts and today are experiencing something that some of them have never done before.”

Instructor Kim kicked off the class by tapping into the minds of us non-dancers with, “We as human beings, when we walk down the street, we walk with our toes pointed in the direction we are going. But in ballet, it’s all about the stage and the audience and how you move on the stage, so your toes & legs rotate sideways. This is called ‘turnout.’”

Kim continued to teach the fundamentals of ballet, by mentioning, “The most important thing is keeping your posture. Don’t ever sink into your lower back. You always want to support with your lower stomach and support with your rib cage.” After several enlightening demonstrations by Kim, the class took part in attempting to execute a proper “demi plie,” followed by a “rond de jambe” and finishing the class with a series of “jumps.”

Once the “Keep Fit Ballet” class concluded, I spoke with one attendee & Healthy Initiative participant, Jodi Jeras, who attempted ballet for the very first time. Jodi shared, “I just realized there are other things to do besides going to the gym and being on the treadmill & elliptical. I felt like a ballerina in there and I never, ever in my life would’ve thought I would like doing something like that. I worked up a sweat, but at the same time, I felt so much less stressed and serene with the music. I loved the workout.”

To sign-up and/or learn more about Joffrey’s “Keep Fit Ballet” classes now open to the public, visit Joffrey.org/AdultClasses. For more on Healthy Initiative, visit HealthyInitiative.org.

Jeff Conway / 24/7 Contributor