Chicago Repertory Ballet (CRB) is proud to present an exhilarating Spring Series that celebrates reinvention and bold new voices with two World Premieres and the revival of Founding Artistic Director Wade Schaaf's The Rite of Spring, set to Igor Stravinsky's watershed score. Since its establishment in 2011, CRB has championed blending classical ballet with contemporary dance, adding its singular voice to Chicago's rich dance landscape through original, genre-bending works. Following boundary-breaking choreographic works including adaptations of The Four Seasons, Bolero, Macbeth, and most recently, the critically acclaimed Romeo and Juliet spinoff, The Capulets, the Spring Series continues CRB's exploration of contemporary classical form. CRB 2026 Spring Series takes place one weekend only, May 29 to 31, 2026, at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 North Dearborn Street. Tickets are available at www.crbdance.com or by calling 872-588-0430.
Schaaf said, "We are excited to build on Chicago Repertory Ballet's recent success with The Capulets with a spring program that sits squarely at the intersection of ballet's past and our vision of what ballet can be. Our refreshed adaptation of The Rite of Spring – a Ballet Russe era ballet that was so revolutionary in its time that it caused riots – will be modernized again for today's audiences. The two World Premiere works Beyond the Blue Line and Pulse: ILTJ1101 boldly capture the innovations of ballet today – including inspirations from technology and outer space – making the Spring Series 2026 a thrilling exploration of what our company does best."
The evening opens with Pikieris's striking World Premiere contemporary ballet, Beyond the Blue Line. Evoking vastness, possibility, and quiet mystery, Beyond the Blue Line draws its inspiration from the horizon line where sea meets sky. Beyond the Blue Line invites audiences on a journey into openness, curiosity, and discovery, guiding us past the visible horizon and into the imaginative space that lies beyond. Known for his sweeping physicality and intricate musicality, Pikieris crafts movement both architecturally precise and emotionally expansive, demanding virtuosity while revealing the humanity of each dancer.
The program continues with the World Premiere of Schaaf's Pulse: ILTJ1101, a high-voltage fusion of neo-classical ballet and relentless techno soundscapes, propelled forward by futuristic lighting that turns the stage into a living circuit of energy. Inspired by the phenomenon of stellar radio pulses – where a collapsed star draws matter from a companion and releases it as powerful bursts of radiation – this work translates cosmic physics into visceral human motion. Dancers drive through virtuosic technical vocabulary with precision and force, their movement charged by an undercurrent of rhythmic intensity. Partnering becomes a study in exchange: weight, momentum, and energy pass from body to body as if transmitted along an invisible current. As light and sound converge with movement, Pulse: ILTJ1101 invites audiences into a futuristic landscape where classical form meets raw kinetic power; an electrifying exploration of how energy fuels motion, connection, and creation.
The evening concludes with Schaaf's crowd-pleasing The Rite of Spring, a visceral reimagining of one of the most iconic works in dance history in which a tribe selects one individual each year to perform a sacrificial rite, and must dance until death. Schaaf's production originally premiered in 2013 at The Vittum Theater and was later reworked for an outdoor performance on Crickett Hill in 2021, where the natural environment intensified its primal themes and communal tension. Now, Schaaf revisits and reshapes the 2021 version as a site-specific staging for The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, allowing the space to heighten the audience's immersion in the ritual. Driven by pounding rhythms and the relentless momentum of Stravinsky's score, the ballet highlights how group dynamics can make for fatal outcomes - an idea which remains as salient today as it was at the ballet's premiere over one hundred years ago.
ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHERS
Yanis Eric Pikieris is a native of Miami, Florida and began his dance training with his parents, Marielena Mencia and Yanis Pikieris, at Miami Youth Ballet. He also trained at Miami City Ballet School and with Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride at Charlotte Ballet Academy. As an apprentice with Charlotte Ballet, Pikieris performed in several company productions, including Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux's The Nutcracker and Peter Pan, Alonzo King's Chants, and George Balanchine's Tarantella. Pikieris joined Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami in 2016 as an inaugural member of the company where he has since been featured in works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Vicente Nebrada, Septime Webre, and Ivonice Satie, among others. As a choreographer, he has created several original works for Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami's main stage series at The Moss Center; as well as two commissions for their sister company, Ballet Vero Beach; and a world premiere collaboration with Miami-based Illuminarts and Philadelphia-based Variant 6. In 2022, Pikieris choreographed a work for National Water Dance, encouraging ongoing engagement between dance and the environment. Pikieris is now one of Dimensions Dance Theatre's Artists in Residence and is a two-time recipient of the (DMC) Dance Miami Choreographers' Program award.
Wade Schaaf (They/Them) is a Chicago native and graduated cum laude from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts, with an emphasis in dance performance. Throughout their professional career, Schaaf danced with several distinguished companies including Ohio Ballet, State Street Ballet Santa Barbara, The Omaha Theater Ballet, Thodos Dance Chicago, and River North Chicago Dance Company. During their time on stage, Schaaf had the opportunity to work with an array of renowned choreographers such as Septime Webre, Stephen Mills, Frank Chaves, Laurie Stallings, and Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking. Notable roles in Schaaf's performance career include Tybalt in Robin Welch's Romeo and Juliet, the Snow King in Welch's The Nutcracker, and Jonathan in Kennet Oberly's Dracula. Schaaf also originated the role of Mayor Carter Harrison in The White City, a collaboration between Thodos Dance Chicago and Ann Reinking. After retiring from performing, Mx. Schaaf founded Chicago Repertory Ballet in November 2011. The company debuted to critical acclaim, receiving the headline review "A Bright Debut for Chicago Repertory Ballet" (Sid Smith, The Chicago Tribune). Since then, Wade has choreographed numerous acclaimed works including The Rite of Spring, The Four Seasons, Bolero, and full-length ballet adaptations of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet (The Capulets). Under Schaaf's leadership, CRB continues to pursue a bold vision: challenging conventional definitions of ballet in both form and structure to create dance that defies labels. Beyond the studio, Mx. Schaaf is passionate about visual art, health, and wellness.
ABOUT CHICAGO REPERTORY BALLET
Founded in 2011, Chicago Repertory Ballet is dedicated to presenting artistically daring and visually striking works that engage, inspire, and challenge audiences. The company has established itself as a vital part of Chicago's arts community, earning praise for its commitment to innovation and excellence in dance. For more information about The Capulets and Chicago Repertory Ballet, visit www.crbdance.com.
