CHICAGO — Jazz music and contemporary dance: misunderstood genres which often operate ahead of their time. It isn’t until years, or even decades later that audiences accept and begin to appreciate art forms that look and sound strange at first. Such was the case with John Coltrane (1926-1967), a legendary saxophonist and composer who quite literally changed jazz music. Perhaps the…

The inevitable end of summer has given us some perfect evenings for a picnic and a show in downtown Chicago. Indeed, the lawn at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park was packed last Thursday for a unique collaboration made possible by the two heads of state of a venue previously known as the Viaduct Theatre. Links Hall’s Roell Schmidt and Constellation’s Mike Reed joined…

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 position, a role occupied by Phil…

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago announced its 42nd presenting season last Tuesday, and at first glance nothing looks especially different. Many of the usual suspects are present as the Dance Center continues its commitment to providing Columbia students and dance audiences at large with an eclectic mix of contemporary and experimental performance. Stephen Petronio and his phenomenal group of dancers return…

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 and stature can’t. A delightfully refined Crash…

For the first time maybe ever, ballet fans were torn this weekend in deciding between the Joffrey’s season opener Stories in Motion and The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. The Dance Center isn’t exactly a reputed venue for ballet, which makes the Chicago premiere of Philadelphia-based BalletX all the more exciting. Having previously seen BalletX in St. Louis two…

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…

It doesn’t appear to be a logical combination at first. One might even call them “The Odd Couple” of the October Chicago dance frenzy. But actually, it’s a match made in heaven. Same Planet Different World (SPDW), under the direction of Joanna Rosenthal, and Peter Carpenter Performance Project, under the direction of… well, you know… come together this weekend at…

The Dance Center of Columbia College’s 40th season opened last night with the world premiere of Susan Marshall’s Play/Pause. It was kind of a big deal, for a few reasons: 1) The Dance Center turns 40 this year.  I wonder if, when founder Shirley Mordine started all this, she ever could have imagined how successful a place it would become.  As…

Happy National Dance Week! I have a big week planned on the blog in celebration of National Dance Week and the close of Chicago Dance Month.  A few weeks ago I asked readers to tell me who your favorite dancer teachers are and why, and I was awesomely surprised to receive nearly 150 nominations!  Of those, the seven teachers who…