Celebrating the careers of Joffrey’s remarkable artists
As one door closes, another opens. The Joffrey celebrates the retiring artists of 2020–2021: Derrick Agnoletti, April Daly, Anna Gerberich, Chloé Sherman, and Temur Suluashvili.
“My love and gratitude for these artists is truly immeasurable,” said Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of the Joffrey. “I have seen each of them grow and become the remarkable people they are today. We will miss their daily presence in the studios and on stage but know that they will never be far away. We wish them all the best as they begin a new chapter of their lives.”
Derrick Agnoletti
A Company Artist with the Joffrey since 2005, Agnoletti grew up in San Jose, California, training at the San Jose Cleveland Ballet School and receiving scholarships to San Francisco Ballet School, The School of American Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre NYC intensives. He was educated at the University of California, Irvine, graduating with a BS in Sociological Sciences and BFA in Dance, high honors. A National Merit Scholar and a member of the UCI NCAA swim team, he studied/danced works by Antony Tudor, Jose Limón, George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Donald McKayle, and Martha Graham. He performed with the UCI/Conservatoire National Superiuer de Paris exchange program as well as McKayle’s UCI Etude Ensemble.
Since joining the Joffrey in 2003, Agnoletti has performed David Parson’s solo Caught!; William Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, New Sleep, Artifact II, and Steptext; Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain, Celebration, Confetti, Trinity, Round of Angels, Viva Vivaldi, and Kettentanz; Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe, Nine Sinatra Songs, and Waterbaby Bagatelles; Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, Cinderella (Jester), and A Wedding Bouquet; Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table; Giselle; Jerome Robbins's NY Export; Opus Jazz!; John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio); Le Sacre du Printemps; Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom; Jessica Lang’s Crossed; Antony Tudor’s Lilac Garden and Dark Elegies; Robert Joffrey’s Postcards and The Nutcracker; Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel: A Dance, Swan Lake, Fool’s Paradise, and The Nutcracker (Snow Soloist, Chinese, Teenage Boy); GeorgeBalanchine’s Serenade, Western Symphony, Valse Fantasie, Square Dance, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Stars and Stripes and Tarantella; Lar Lubovitch’s Othello (Cassio) and Smile with my Heart; Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort and Forgotten Land; Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère (Fire God); Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31 and Tulle; Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit, The Times Are Racing (Role of Robbie); Myles Thatcher’s Body of Your Dreams; Wayne McGregor’s Infra (Second Pas); and Yuri Possokhov’s The Miraculous Mandarin, Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine, and Kathy Marston’s Jane Eyre.
Agnoletti has originated roles in Nicolas Blanc’s Purple and EvenFall, Beyond the Shore and Under the Trees Voices, Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence, Welch’s Son of Chamber Symphony, Val Caniparoli’s Incantations, James Kudelka’s Pretty BALLET, Donald Byrd’s Motown Suite, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Mammatus, Ekman's JOY, and Ashley Page’s Tipping Point.
A social butterfly and certified Personal Trainer through NASM, Agnoletti’s hobbies include deep sea fishing, boating, country music, volleyball, Barrys Bootcamp, traveling, visiting Chicago restaurants and bars, The San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Cubs and Blackhawks. Also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national chapter, he enjoys time with his big Italian family and group of lifelong friends whom he cherishes.
If you can’t find him on stage you can also catch a Agnoletti hurdling you through a rigorous sprint and lifting class in the infamous Red Room at Barry’s, as one of Chicago’s beloved Instructors.
April Daly
April Daly, a native of Rockford, Illinois, studied with the Rockford Dance Company and later attended the New School University/Joffrey Ballet BFA program in New York. Daly also danced for two seasons with The Washington Ballet prior to joining the Joffrey.
Since joining The Joffrey Ballet, Daly has performed a variety of works, including lead roles in Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), John Neumeier's Sylvia (Sylvia), Yuri Possokhov's Don Quixote (Kitri, Mercedes, Queen of the Dryads) Lar Lubovitch's Othello (Desdemona), Frederic Franklin's Giselle (Myrtha, Moyna), Frederick Ashton's Cinderella (Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Autumn Fairy), Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow (Valencienne), Krzysztof Pastor's Romeo & Juliet (Juliet), Stanton Welch's La Bayadère (Gazmatti), and Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum).
Other significant performances include Jerome Robbins's In the Night (2nd Pas) and The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody) (The Ballerina, The Wife); Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Aria I), Stars and Stripes Pas (Liberty Bell), Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Apollo (Calliope), Prodigal Son, and Allegro Brilliante; Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain, Continuum, Liturgy, Fool's Paradise (Main pas), and Carousel (A Dance) (Julie); Antony Tudor's Lilac Garden; Wayne McGregor's INFRA; William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated; Lar Lubovitch's ...smile with my heart; Jiří Kylián's Forgotten Land (Red Pas, Black Pas); Frederick Ashton's Les Patineurs (Red Girl); Edwaard Liang's Age of Innocence; Alexander Ekman's Tulle; Ashley Page's Tipping Point; and Stanton Welch's Son of Chamber Symphony. In September 2009, she was Dance Magazine's "On the Rise."
Anna Gerberich
Anna Gerberich is a native of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and began her training at the age of seven with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. She was a featured performer with the CPYB Performing Company and had the privilege of dancing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker with Benjamin Millepied. Her training also included rewarding summer programs including Kaatsbaan, Kirov Academy, and American Ballet Theatre.
She was awarded the Pointe Magazine NERDA Award of Promise in 2001. She received first place at the 2003 Youth America Grand Prix regionals and placed in the top ten at the finals. In 2004, she was awarded the Barbara Weisberger RDA Founders Award for Excellence. That same year, she was invited by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride to apprentice with the Charlotte Ballet, and in 2005 at the age of 16, was hired into the main company. She was promoted to Soloist and then Principal within three years. She recently spent two years with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.
In her career, Gerberich has danced many fun and interesting roles, including Bonnefoux's Cinderella (Cinderella), Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), The Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Dwight Rhoden’s Othello (Desdemona), Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land (Black and Red Couple), Sleepless (Red), and Return to a Strange Land (Blue), Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote (Kitri), Jorma Elo’s 1st Flash, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes (The Liberty Bell), Who Cares? (Turning Girl), Western Symphony (1st movement lead), and Coppelia (Swanilda). She performed the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in London with the Bad Boys of Ballet. Gerberich participated in the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors on CBS and was on a PBS documentary honoring Patricia McBride.
She has originated roles in Nicolas Blanc’s Encounter, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Mammatus, and Ashley Page’s Tipping Point.
Chloé Sherman
Born and raised in New York, Chloé Sherman began her training with Ballet Academy East at the age of two. She was asked to train at The School of American Ballet at the age of 17 where she performed Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, Bourrée Fantasque, Allegro Brillante, Who Cares?, and Christopher Wheeldon’s Scènes de Ballet in Workshop. At the age of 18, she was offered a corps de ballet contract with The Los Angeles Ballet, directed by Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen. During the four years dancing with Los Angeles Ballet, Sherman performed a wide range of ballet and contemporary works staged and choreographed by internationally renowned choreographers. She has performed ballets choreographed by George Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, as well as world premieres by Kitty McNamee, Stacey Tookey, and Christopher Stowell. Sherman joined Silicon Valley Ballet directed by José Manuel Carreño in 2015. There she danced Alicia Alonso's Giselle, and Ohad Naharin's Minus 16, as well as performing the pas de deux from both Diana and Acteon and Le Corsaire. Sherman was the guest ballerina for Dances Patrelle and performed the title role in Romeo and Juliet.
Sherman's repertoire includes Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Sechs Tänze, Return to a Strange Land, La Source, Walpurgisnacht Ballet, Divertimento No. 15, Raymonda Variations, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2, Serenade, Stars and Stripes, La Sonnambula, The Four Temperaments, La Valse, Agon, and Rubies from Jewels.
Temur Suluashvili
Temur Suluashvili joined The Joffrey Ballet in 2003 after studying on a full scholarship with The Joffrey Ballet School in New York.
Suluashvili was born in Russia and raised in the Republic of Georgia. At age 15, he began his ballet training at the V. Chabukiani Academy. During his years at the Academy, he was a finalist in the Republic’s first dance competition and received a Certificate of Achievement. At a young age, he was invited to perform in the company’s productions of The Nutcracker, Giselle, Don Quixote, and Sleeping Beauty (Blue Bird).
Since joining the Joffrey, he has danced leading roles in many ballets including La Bayadère (Solar), Giselle (Albrecht), Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella (Prince), Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote (Basilio and Espada), Lar Lubovich’s Othello (Iago), John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio), Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker (Nutcracker Prince), Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake (Rothbart), and Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo & Juliet (Tybalt).
Suluashvili originated the leading pas de deux in Yuri Possokhov’s Bells and Adagio, as well as the 3rd movement in Stanton Welch’s Son of Chamber Symphony. Other significant performances include Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum, After the Rain, and Carousel (A Dance); Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence and Woven Dreams; James Kudelka’s Pretty BALLET; Val Caniparoli’s Incantations; Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land and Return to a Strange Land; Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table; Gerald Arpino’s Reflections, Sea Shadow, Kettentanz, Light Rain, Round of Angels, Viva Vivaldi and Postcards; Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies, Offenbach in the Underworld and Lilac Garden; George Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Prodigal Son and Square Dance; Jerome Robbins’ In the Night and The Concert; Les Presage; Jessica Lang’s Crossed; Helgi Tomasson’s Valses Poeticos, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs; Alexander Ekman’s Tulle; among many others.
Suluashvili enjoys photographing dancers on stage and in the studio. Selections of his photos have been published in The New York Times. He is married to Victoria Jaiani, who is also a dancer with The Joffrey Ballet.