An exclusive peek at RivNo’s world premiere “the frost that binds”

This Saturday, March 28 River North Dance Chicago (RNDC) will be presenting two world premiere performances as part of the closing performance of the company’s 25th anniversary season. On the bill is Adam Barruch’s “the frost that binds,” and if Barruch’s name sounds familiar, don’t be alarmed. RNDC has employed Barruch on two previous occasions: once for a world premiere called “I Close My Eyes Until the End” in 2012, and for the Chicago premiere of the absolutely wonderful “The Worst Pies in London,” performed by Drew Fountain in 2013.

After these two highly successful collaborations, Barruch is back for another, this time an original score from Brooklyn-based artist Roarke Menzies. Barruch and Menzies collaborated to create something that all of us in Chicago are itching for at the moment: the idea of transformation as the seasons change from cold to warm, and the sensation of an ostensibly new beginning.

Here’s hoping Barruch’s new piece brings  little of that warm feeling to the Windy City… until then, I have the pleasure of sharing some exclusive (and rarely seen) rehearsal shots of “the frost that binds” (photos credited to: Nathanael Filbert).

Also on the program is another world premiere and the choreographic debut of RNDC company member Hanna Brictson in Beast, as well as company favorites Flesh by Spanish choreographer Iván Pérez, Artistic Director Frank Chaves’ crowd pleaser Habaneras, and Chaves’ all-male sextet (and a personal favorite of mine) In The End.

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (50 E. Congress Pkwy) presents River North Dance Chicago as part of its Made in Chicago Series Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $27– $67, available online at AuditoriumTheatre.org, by calling (800) 982-ARTS (2787), or in-person at the Auditorium’s Box Office.

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.