Jazz Hands + Tamales = Winning

Courtesy of Giordano Dance Chicago
Courtesy of Giordano Dance Chicago

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance may be trying to reinvent itself in its Eat to the Beat, a series of casual, lunchtime performances featuring some of our best local talent.  I typically peg the Harris as a place where I have to dress up and pay too much for parking – ergo, I don’t make it there often.  But the idea of catching a food truck downtown, or bringing my sack lunch into the theatre and seeing a little dance at the same time is pretty brilliant.

And it’s $5?!?

Even better.

This Friday at noon Giordano Dance Chicago will strut their stuff while you munch with works including the premiere of La Belleza de Cuba (The Beauty of Cuba) choreographed by Liz Imperio, Giordano Moves (Gus Giordano), River (Cesar G. Salinas), and G-Force (Autumn Eckman).

Gigi’s Bakeshop, Bombay Wraps and Tamale Spaceship will be parked right outside, or you can bring a bag lunch to enjoy during the performance.  At only 45 minutes and the added bonus of food allowed in the theatre, there’s really no reason not to go.

The Harris Theater’s Eat to the Beat series featuring Giordano Dance Chicago takes place Friday, March 22 at 12 p.m. at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance  (205 East Randolph Drive, Chicago). Tickets are $5 Online at HarrisTheaterChicago.org; by phone: 312-334-777; or in person at the box office. Lunchpasses are available to see all the Eat to the Beat performances for the remainder of the season for $15.

 

 

Author: Lauren Warnecke

Lauren Warnecke is a freelance dance critic, contributing to the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine. She is senior editor of See Chicago Dance. Lauren covers dance across the Midwest and writes regularly for Dance Magazine and Pointe with additional bylines in Milwaukee Magazine, St. Louis Magazine and Dance Teacher. Forthcoming publications include essays on ballet training in Chicago (University of Illinois Press) and Shirley Mordine (University of Akron Press). In 2020, Lauren published an opinion piece on the impact of COVID-19 on the arts in the South African journal Agenda. Lauren holds degrees in dance and kinesiology and has presented research on dance training practices at the National Dance Education Organization and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science. She has co-facilitated critical dance writing intensives in Chicago and Durban, South Africa, and participated in writing residencies at the National Center for Choreography, Bates Dance Festival and JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience. Lauren teaches dance history and kinesiology for dancers, with part-time appointments at Loyola University Chicago and Illinois Wesleyan University.