Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Spring Season Kick-off

 

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Hubbard Street Dancer Ana Lopez and ensemble in Little mortal jump by Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s spring season begins with a bang…

… and his name is Alonzo King.  

In a highly anticipated collaboration with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the two companies share the stage for the first time.  Though we dancers love our collaborations, sharing a stage is not something that either company was particularly familiar with; as a matter of fact, this is the first time it’s been done in all of Hubbard Street’s 35 spring seasons (that’s out of a total of 35). Sharing dancers, choreographers, and (assumedly) secrets, this collaboration is a unique and unusual one for both artistic directors.  Perhaps the most obvious challenge in Hubbard Street + LINES Ballet is the difference in genre.  HSDC is generally perceived as a contemporary dance company and LINES a neo-classical ballet company, but in the end, as HSDC Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton reminds us,

“It’s all dance.  It’s all the fusion of movement and ideas.”

He makes it sound so easy, but it takes time for a group of dancers to mesh and work cohesively as a company.  In this instance, all 12 of King’s and 16 of Edgerton’s dancers only had three weeks together during a residency in Irvine, CA.  The way I see it, if anyone can pull this off, it’s them.  Having tested the theory in Berkeley early in February, Hubbard Street +  LINES Ballet visits the Harris Theatre for HSDC’s spring home opener March 14-17 before tour dates in Madison, WI and Los Angeles.

Also of note:

In its 10th year, Bold Moves for Women is a pre-show soiree down the street from the Harris celebrating HSDC’s ongoing commitment to showcasing women in leadership roles on stage.  Proceeds from Bold Women go toward Hubbard Street’s outreach, community and education initiatives.

Hubbard Street + LINES Ballet in New Work by Alonzo King (Chicago Premiere) at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance (205 E. Randolph) happens March 14 at 7:30, March 15-16 at 8:00pm, and March 17 at 3pm Tickets are $25–$99 available at hubbardstreetdance.com. The pre-show Bold Moves for Women benefit will take place at 5:30pm on Thursday, March 14 at Baker and McKenzie, LLC (300 W. Randolph).  Tickets to both events together are $150-200; for more information contact Jeanne T. Newman: jnewman@hubbardstreetdance.com.

http://hubbardstreetdance.com/ + http://linesballet.org/

Author: Lauren Warnecke

Lauren Warnecke is a reporter for NPR affiliate station WGLT and freelance arts and culture critic, primarily reviewing dance for the Chicago Tribune. Lauren enjoys cooking, cycling and attempting to grow things in her backyard. She lives in central Illinois.