Victoria
Jaiani

Benois de la Danse nominee

Victoria Jaiani joined the Joffrey Ballet in August 2003.Born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, Ms. Jaiani began her training at the age of ten at V. Chabukiani Ballet School. She continued her studies in New York and in June 2003 was awarded a Bronze Medal at the New York International Ballet Competition Since joining the Joffrey, she has danced leading roles in many ballets including: Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake (Odette-Odile), John Neumeier Sylvia (Diana), Orphee et Eurydice (Eurydice), Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère (Nikia, Gamzati), Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella (Cinderella), Giselle (Giselle), John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Lar Lubovitch’s Othello (Desdemona), Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre (Jane), Yuri Possokhov’s world premiere of Anna Karenina (Anna Karenina), Don Quixote (Kitri), Christopher Wheeldon’s world premiere of The Nutctacker (Golden Statue), Alexander Ekman’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow (Henna Glawari), and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker.

Ms. Jaiani originated the lead pas de deux in Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence and Woven Dreams; Possokhov’s Bells and The Miraculous Mandarin, Welch’s Son of Chamber Symphony; and James Kudelka’s Pretty BALLET. Other significant performances include George Balanchine’s Apollo (Terpsichore), Stravinsky Violin Concerto Aria II, The Four Temperaments (Choleric); Wheeldon’s Afterthe Rain, Fool’s Paradise, Carousel A Dance (Julie); Wayne McGregor’s Infra; Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land (Black pas) and Returnto a Strange Land; William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated; Possokhov’s RAkU; Liam Scarlett Vespertine; JeromeRobbin’s In the Night (3rd pas), Glass Pieces and Ballerina in The Concert; Justin Peck’s In Creases, Year of the Rabbit; Welch’s Maninyas; Antony Tudor’s Lilac Garden, Dark Elegies, and Operetta Star in Offenbach in the Underworld; Lar Lubovitch’s …Smile With My Heart; Ashton’s Monotones II; Gerald Arpino’s Sea Shadow, Round of Angels, Reflections, Kettentanz, Birthday Variations, and Viva Vivaldi; Nicolas Blanc’s Evenfall, Beyond the Shore and Encounter; Alexander Ekman’s Tulle, Joy; Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Mammatus, Ashley Page’s Tipping point. In 2010, Ms. Jaiani was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine and was named “Chicagoan of the Year” by the Chicago Tribune ArtsCritic. In 2012, Today’s Chicago Woman named her one of Chicago’stop women in the arts. In 2013, Chicago Magazine named her “bestdancer”.

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