Click:

http://www.joffrey.com/

Now, what don't you find? (Hint: Look at the main title banner!)

The is gone from the title? Why? Or was it never there?

Good for a start. Now look after the word, "Ballet"....

It doesn't say "of Chicago."

Exactly right! I guess there must not be any more Joffrey Ballets floating around that need distinction from the one in Chicago. A welcome resumption of a traditional name.

There was a preview of this in the big Lincoln Center Festival 2004 brochure, where the company is called simply The Joffrey Ballet. I haven't seen them since they moved to Chicago, and I'm really looking forward to their July 8 program of Les Patineurs, Monotones I and II, and A Wedding Bouquet. They'll also be appearing on a couple of mixed bills with the Birmingham Royal Ballet and K-Ballet Company. Welcome back!

Interesting! It seems pretty consistent -- the two venues where they will be performing here have them listed simply as "The Joffrey Ballet".

Any idea why this is? Did some legal statute of limitations run out?