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‘Sweater Weather’ Defies the Stereotype (review)

Feb

2015

With every class that graduates from the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago comes a gaggle of tiny new dance companies, followed by an equal number of Kickstarter campaigns, and enthusiastic audiences largely made up of… each other. But every once in awhile, one or two of the “little guys” sticks around more than a ...

Crash captures ‘all the feels’ for its DC debut (review)

Feb

2015

Chicago Dance Crash (CDC) kicked off its 13th season with an ambitious rep program for the group’s debut performance at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago (DC) this weekend. This interdisciplinary group of dancerly misfits shouldn’t look good together, but somehow they accomplish a cohesion and polish that many other companies of their size ...

Nexus Redux (review)

Jan

2015

Does Chicago need another new dance company? No. Does Chicago need another new dance studio? Probably not. And yet, it felt so exciting walking into the raw, cold footprint of the north side garage that will eventually become Dovetail Studios… walking in for the kick off a new name in town: The Cambrians. New, but not ...

5 Chicago Dancers to Observe in 2015

Jan

2015

The 25 to Watch List put out each year by Dance Magazine is a coveted place for any dancer, and this year Chicago is extremely well represented with Emilie Leriche, Robyn Mineko Williams, and the whole of Visceral Dance Chicago called out for 2015. While it is impossible to disagree with these choices, I have ...

Celebration and Celebrities at the Aud’s 125th Birthday Bash

Dec

2014

Last night the Auditorium Theatre was teeming with opulence and excitement, in addition to Chicago celebrities John Mahoney, Patti LuPone, and Mayor Rahm too. The fancies all gathered to celebrate The Aud’s 125th birthday in the grandest of style, paying homage to the gala opening on Dec 9th, 1889. Orchestral and rock music, opera and ...

Dancers Tong and Hortin dish on HSDC’s Winter Series, Victor Quijada, and not the Nutcracker

Dec

2014

An abundance of choreographic royalty appears onstage at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) this weekend and next as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC)* presents its Winter Series featuring Princess Grace Awardees Kyle Abraham, Robyn Mineko Williams, and Victor Quijada. Abraham’s Counterpoint is on the program (after last summer’s premiere as a commission of the Chicago Dancing ...

Khecari’s ‘Oubliette’ will soon be gone, but not forgotten

Nov

2014

The feeling one gets entering Khecari’s latest performance environment must be how Mary Lennox felt when she first encountered the soggy and dead secret garden on the moor. The plants surrounding the barn at Indian Boundary Park are wilted and decaying; there’s a mysterious beauty to the garden that glows under strings of twinkle lights hanging in ...

Bread & Butter culminates

Nov

2014

Last fall, Cristina Tadeo and Nicholas Davio premiered a miniature dance and music installation at Comfort Station called Bread & Butter. Though short on length, space, and cast, the result of a year long investigation into the ongoing discussion of artistic sustainability left a lasting impact on me. After a year of incubation, Tadeo and Davio return ...

A New Lens for Dance: Pros and Cons of Live Streaming Performance

Oct

2014

Dance for the camera is nothing new, but with idevices, YouTube, and the Internet literally everywhere, broadcasting dance to living room sofas is easier than ever. Chicago companies large and small are trying it out, in different iterations, and for slightly different reasons. The common goal, however, is to access and engage with new audience ...

Christopher Preissing Looks to his Past in “The Four Attic Windows”

Oct

2014

Shortly after his excellent collaboration with Kristina Isabelle in The Floating City last year, composer Christopher Preissing did not take any time to rest. Four antique maps inspired his suite for solo piano called The Four Attic Windows. Preissing was set to launch the new work and accompanying dance created by choreographer Enid Smith a few weeks later, when a serious ...