Cloud Gate approaches….

In what may be the most comprehensive marketing campaign I’ve ever seen, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s visit to Chicago next week might be the most highly anticipated event of the season. Three of our heavy hitters of the Chicago dance scene – The Joffrey Ballet, Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, and the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago –  teamed together to bring the company and its legendary work Songs of the Wanderers to our city for a two performance engagement at the Auditorium.

Founder/Artistic Director Lin Hwai-min’s Songs of the Wanderers is a timeless work inspired by Siddhartha’s quest for enlightenment. The dancers must demonstrate a rigorous patience and focus while navigating three and a half tons of golden rice pouring from the sky. I won’t belabor you with reasons why you should see this, but instead will simply say:

Don’t.  Miss. It.

In a cheeky move, Lindsay Schlesser took a few pictures of Cloud Gate at Cloud Gate (you know, The Bean? Yeah, that thing is actually called Cloud Gate).

Enjoy…

 

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Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan performs Songs of the Wanderers Friday March 14 (7:30pm) and Sunday March 16 (3:00pm) at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Pkwy.  Tickets are $28-68, available in person at the Box Office, by calling 312.369.8330, or online.

 

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.