CHICAGO — A line of men struggled to shift along the walls of a cell, backs turned and elbows struggling to fit in and out of the spaces between the cell’s bars. The wall-to-wall screen of Loyola University Chicago’s Damen Cinema amplified these movements so that we the audience felt as though we were there with the men, feeling the…

Author’s note: To read additional coverage of the 2018 Midwest RAD Fest, click here. KALAMAZOO, MI — Each of RAD Fest’s four juried live performances asked audience members to travel from the Epic Center’s Wellspring Theater to the Judy Jolliffe Theater across the hall, a flexible blackbox with gleaming, gorgeous wood floors. We’re told to stand or sit wherever we like,…

Producer Jesse Welch and professional dancer Melanie Buttarazzi teamed together recently with a vision to enrich the lives of foster youth through dance. Welch and Buttarazzi recruited choreographers Sean Cheeseman, Stacy Walker, Gustavo Vargas, and Robert Chino Lopez, who have worked with world renowned entertainment giants the likes of J Lo and Michael Jackson, as well as in television and film….

Originally from Austin, TX, dancer/choreographer Anna Reyes left her hometown and a conventional ballet/modern/jazz dance training to attend The Boston Conservatory, where she fell in love with improvisation. Rather than moving to New York straight away after college, Reyes decided to plant herself in Boston for awhile. Two years later, she’s working as a personal trainer while immersing herself in…