contemporary dance | Art Intercepts

Pas de Queer: So, what’s your type?

By Kait Dessoffy on August 20, 2017

Editor‘s Note: I’m so delighted to introduce Kaitlyn Dessoffy as a contributor to Art Intercepts, writing a new column called “Pas de Queer”. Kaitlyn will be sharing their personal experiences as a musical theater major turned dancer/choreographer in Chicago, in addition to delving into topics surrounding gender and sexuality in concert dance. Enjoy! The “type” question […]

Gu Jiani’s ‘Right & Left’ Challenges Assumptions (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on September 28, 2015

Joseph Lam, Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (CI), climbed a short set of stairs from the house of the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater up to the edge of the stage and immediately noted that he’d been given specific directions: Don’t touch the floor. Indeed, it was a pristine white […]

Andee Scott in the edge of it, Photo by Kirk Donaldson

At the Harvest Fest, Less is More (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on September 21, 2015

The 6th installment of the Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival (HCCDF) is trying a new format, with two programs rather than three, spread out over two weekends. The result is fewer artists, more tech time for each artist, and an overall heightened sophistication to one of the few remaining small-scale festivals. The evening opened with a bang […]

Bonnie Brooks | photo credit: Katie Graves

UPDATE: More Change in Store at the Dance Center

By Lauren Warnecke on July 16, 2015

A few months after an inconspicuous note tucked in the season announcement that Bonnie Brooks would be curating its presenting series, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago released a statement last week that Brooks has now been named Presenting Series Director, effective August 1. The difference in positions includes the elimination of the Dance Center’s Executive Director […]

‘Sweater Weather’ Defies the Stereotype (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on February 28, 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)

By Lauren Warnecke on February 22, 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 […]

Scatterdance presents a smattering of dance (preview)

By Lauren Warnecke on May 1, 2014

Nora Sharp isn’t a typical dancer. “I grew up playing classical music intensely,” she said in an interview on Easter morning. Sharp didn’t start dancing until she was nearing the end of her tenure at Oberlin College. Being relatively new to dance and relatively new to Chicago, Sharp felt gaps in the community in trying to […]

Striding Lion examines the American Dream (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on April 20, 2014

Striding Lion Performance Group’s latest endeavor, American Me, is an immersive look at the sometimes hilarious, sometimes profound, sometimes disturbing state of self-reliance and the American Dream. It’s a wide-reaching, epic journey that spans decades and genres, blending 1950’s diner tunes with 1980’s rock ballads, and weird emo modern dance with pas de chats with satirical […]

Visceral Dance Chicago joins the lot for #chidancemonth (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on April 14, 2014

In a month that is veritably packed with dance, on a weekend that was equitably packed with dance, Visceral Dance Chicago (VDC) offered up a two-day program at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. This would be VDC’s first attempt at a full-length evening; the fledgling company presented a mini-show last fall debuting work […]

River North’s spring one night stand at the Auditorium Theatre (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on April 13, 2014

Seeing River North Dance Chicago (RNDC) at the Auditorium Theatre felt a little bizarre. Like a buffalo in the Amazon, the ornately dressed Auditorium isn’t RNDC’s natural habitat. Nonetheless, a jubilant and considerably large crowd gathered for a one-night-only effort from a company known for its fierce technique, athleticism, and tight ensemble dancing. By those standards, […]

Giordano Dance Chicago ignites the Harris Theater (Review)

By Lauren Warnecke on April 2, 2014

Ok, maybe it’s too soon for a pun about fire at the Harris, but in the last moments of the electrifying Sabroso I swear I saw smoke coming from the heels of Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC)’s dancers. In an eclectic Spring program, older works appeared with the anticipated world premier of Autumn Eckman’s Mist. Mist […]

dropshift dance aims to immerse and interact, and wins (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on March 2, 2014

Upon first glance, one might consider Andrea Cerniglia’s four woman troupe dropshift dance (intentionally uncapitalized) to be a spin off of Zephyr Dance. Cerniglia is a long time dancer/collaborator with Zephyr, and the influences of Michelle Kranicke (and formerly Emily Stein too) are undeniable. Yet there is something very different about this four woman company that […]

Joffrey tests its boundaries in ‘Contemporary Choreographers’ (preview)

By Lauren Warnecke on January 28, 2014

“Choreography is where dance makes sense to me,” says Chicago-based choreographer Brock Clawson. Amidst the polar vortex, Clawson joined the Joffrey Ballet for a few weeks to set his work Crossing Ashland on the company. Clawson has become highly regarded as a distinguished choreographer in Chicago since retiring from performing for Thodos Dance Chicago less […]

An Encore of One Thousand Pieces (review)

By Lauren Warnecke on December 14, 2013

CHICAGO — If you haven’t already seen Alejandro Cerrudo’s One Thousand Pieces, now is the time to do it. If you’ve already seen Alejandro Cerrudo’s One Thousand Pieces, go see it again. Cerrudo’s evening-legnth effort for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago was a first for both parties, and served as the highly-anticipated season opener for the […]

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Natya Back-to-Back at the Harris (preview)

By Lauren Warnecke on October 28, 2013

On my visit to the studios of Ballet Chicago yesterday, looking out from the 19th floor over the ballet barres at our beautiful skyline, I kept thinking that this is what I imagined life as a professional dancer to look like. The rehearsal climate at Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (DRDT) is intensely focused and serious, […]

“Vision, Faith & Desire” Honors the Past, Looks Toward the Future (preview)

By Lauren Warnecke on September 18, 2013

When I hear the name Martha Graham, two thoughts immediately pop into my mind. My first exposure to modern dance was Graham Technique, and until my third year of college it was really my only exposure. Hearing that name brings a flood of memories of the sore hip flexors and complete frustration and confusion with […]

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater Crosses the Ocean!

By Lauren Warnecke on August 30, 2013

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is the first American company to participate in JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, an international festival in its 15th year in “Sister City” Durban, South Africa. During its 10-day residency, DRDT will present two performances, one a collaboration with Durban’s Flatfoot Dance Company, and participate in workshops and community-based outreach to rural […]

Shaping Sound at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (Review)

By Lauren Warnecke on May 29, 2013

To borrow a question from Kyle MacMillan in yesterday’s Sun Times: Can the mass appeal of television dance shows transfer to the stage? Sure it can. Shaping Sound showed up at the Harris Theater and proved it. “A new contemporary dance company” with TV dance super stars Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance, and Kyle Robinson at the helm, Shaping […]

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Spring Season Kick-off

By Lauren Warnecke on March 8, 2013

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 […]