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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIAN RICHARDS (WHEELDON); CHERYL MANN (RIVER NORTH) TWENTY- FIVE AND COUNTING River North Dance Chicago celebrates a quarter century. In 1989, The Remains of the Day was a must-read, The Heidi Chronicles took the Tony for best play, and the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In Chicago, a quartet of dancers did what dancers often do: They launched a company. Little did they know it would become one of the city's most beloved and successful troupes. At 25, River North Dance Chicago, under the direction of Frank Chaves, continues to win audiences and enrich the art form with its support of talented performers and inventive choreographers. The company kicks off its an- niversary season at the Harris Theater this month with a mix of signature pieces, including Sherry Zunker's Reality of a Dreamer as well as new offerings—most notably the US premiere of Flesh, created by rising Spanish choreographer Iván Pérez. Here's to the next 25. October 8–11, Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Dr., 312-334-7777; harris theaterchicago.org and accidentally got a job at New York City Ballet, where I had arranged to take classes in order to rehab my injured ankle. They were auditioning another boy that day and had assumed I was auditioning as well. It was all a triumphant twist of fate." After dancing seven years with NYCB, Wheeldon shifted gears to spend his time choreographing for the company. Soon, others came calling, from the Boston Ballet to the Bolshoi (he also launched, then left, his own ensemble, and got burned on Broadway when he did the dances for the ill-fated musical Sweet Smell of Success). "I worked with Chris for years when I was at San Francisco Ballet," says Joffrey artistic director Ashley Wheater, "and what is so compelling about his work is his inventive use of classical language. And he's unbelievably musical. What you see unfolding just seems so right to your eyes and your ears." The spark igniting Wheeldon's Swan Lake—commissioned by the Pennsylvania Ballet—was a Degas exhibition in Philadelphia. "I was intrigued at how disarmingly honest he had been about the grittier, sweatier side of ballet in Paris in the late 1800s and how it still is really rather similar to ballet today," relates Wheeldon. "I was looking for a way to root the fairy tale directly in our backstage world, making the deep imagination of the dancer portraying Siegfried the portal into the fantasy. The perfor- mance of Swan Lake and the fantasy he creates in his mind come crashing together; the world of the ballet company and that of this fantasy seem to exist on the same plane." Historically the most youthful and commercially savvy of the country's big ballet companies, the Joffrey might be the last place one would expect to see Swan Lake. And Wheater admits a traditional take on it would probably never find a place in the company's repertoire. "But I think what Chris has done is so worthwhile, and it's the right production for us. If we want to keep our art form alive and well, we have to keep honing our skills in the classical language, even if we break away from it in many works." October 15–26, Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway, 312-341-2310; joffrey.org MA Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon watches a rehearsal for his unconventional staging of Swan Lake in 2011. "WHAT'S SO COMPELLING ABOUT CHRISTOPHER'S WORK IS HIS INVENTIVE USE OF CLASSICAL LANGUAGE. HE'S UNBELIEVABLY MUSICAL." —ASHLEY WHEATER 54 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM CULTURE Hottest Ticket