The film was shown earlier in December at the Siskel Film Center in Chicago and documents the evolution of the Joffrey Ballet and its rise to infamy. The film includes interviews with dancers and excerpts of some more well-known dance pieces.
The film was first shown to a sold-out audience in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City earlier this year. The Village Voice characterized the documentary as "deeply archived," while Film Journal International heralded it as a "bountiful feast for dance lovers, as well as a thrilling story of artistic endeavor for everyone to savor."
In January and February, the Joffrey Ballet piece, Viva Vivaldi, will be performed by WMU dance students under the direction of guest artist Willy Shives, a Joffrey ballet master. Shives also happens to be one of the many dancers featured in Hercules' documentary.
Viva Vivaldi will be performed 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 31- Feb. 2, and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 3, in the Shaw Theatre at the Gilmore Theatre Complex on WMU's main campus.
To read more, please visit wmich.edu/magazine and click the Winter 2012 issue.