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Dance for Life 2015 is in the books

   Published Date: August 17, 2015

To quote Miley Cyrus, “It’s our party, we can do what we want…”

…and at Dance for Life 2015, we sure did. I took a stab at playing multiple roles as reporter, photog., and party-goer. Taking pictures, mingling, and drinking wine all at the same time is complicated, particularly when the whole place is dripping with red lights, and I have a heightened level of respect for any reporter who can manage to pull it off.

In any case, here are my favorite shots of the pre-party Dance for Life Gala at the Hilton Grand Ballroom, and the pre-performance bustling lobby of the Auditorium Theatre. Hopefully they give you a sense of the glamour and opulence, but also the warm and loving community that gathers for the annual Dance for Life benefit (click on an image to open the gallery).

Keep your eyes on Windy City Times in newsstands and online this week for a more in-depth report on the 24th annual Dance for Life!

Pre-performance gala at the beautiful Hilton Grand Ballroom
The dessert tray
Joanna Rosenthal (right, foreground), Artistic Director of Same Planet Different World
Chicago Dancers United Executive Director Anthony Guerrero
Parade from the Hilton to the Auditorium Theatre
Guests flood the Auditorium Theatre
The drinks were free flowing
The drinks were free flowing
Entering the theater

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.