A new PBS documentary, Joffrey Ballet: The Next Movement, premieres Friday, September 18, at 9 pm EDT on PBS, with streaming on the PBS app and PBS.org after the broadcast. The film goes inside the studio with five choreographers over two weeks as they create new work for Joffrey Ballet's annual Winning Works competition.

Since 2011, Winning Works has given emerging artists the chance to create a new piece in collaboration with dancers from the Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet. The competition aims to broaden access to ballet by empowering choreographers from backgrounds historically under-represented in the art form. Past recognized creatives include Jennifer Archibald, Amy Hall Garner, Omar Román de Jesús, and Chanel DaSilva.

Each year, the company selects five winning choreographers. Each receives a $5,000 stipend, a minimum of 30 rehearsal hours, and travel and accommodations. The program culminates in a performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Edlis Neeson Theater in Chicago.

The documentary follows the competition's 2024 cohort: Manoela Gonçalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Jainil Mehta (Mumbai, India), Martha Nichols (Brooklyn, New York), Xavier Núñez (Caguas, Puerto Rico), and Houston Thomas (Chicago, Illinois).

Kartemquin Films produced the film for PBS, with Cam Be directing. It captures the intensity in the studio as the performance deadline looms and explores the choreographers' personal stories. Thomas began his training with Joffrey Ballet's Outreach Program. His return to Chicago as a Winning Works choreographer, years after his mother's death, represents both an emotional homecoming and a full-circle moment in his career.

The film also features Núñez, a Joffrey Ballet company member, on his last day of rehearsal as he reflects on how his piece has evolved and the crossroads he feels in his own career.

With national broadcast reach and streaming availability, the documentary gives Winning Works — and the emerging artists it champions — an audience well beyond Chicago's Edlis Neeson Theater.