The Joffrey Ballet wowed the crowd at Cal Performances in March, opening with Commedia, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, and closing with The Times Are Racing, by Justin Peck. It was a gift of a repertoire. Only one dance was slightly disappointing: Bliss by Stephanie Martinez. The costumes were out of sync; the men topless in plain tan pants, the women in short blue or pink tutus with bling: The Royals meet the working class.  

Beyond the Shore, choreographed by Nicolas Blanc with music by Mason Bates, was exquisite. It was a haunting, expressive piece that opened with audio of a NASA space flight and morphed into a hip, modern sound track.

But the crowd’s overwhelming pick was Peck’s piece: a colorful, buoyant mix of dance genres. The Chicago-based troupe danced in sneakers, and danced with abandon. Watch a clip here: