Preview

Who starts a new dance company in the middle of a global pandemic? That’s the first question I posed to Stephanie Martinez, who did just that. Para.Mar Dance Theatre (P/M) opens its first-ever performance series this weekend, including four inaugural shows along with four all-abilities, open-to-the-public, pay-what-you-can pre-show classes. “It’s donation-based…all of it,” said Martinez. “I wanted to ensure that no matter what your economic situation, you could join us for a performance.”

Tap dance is all about connections: connecting feet to the floor, the body to rhythm and the dance to history, legacy and time. Tap is about dancers connecting with one another and the audience. And for the first time, the Chicago Tap Summit this year is about your WiFi connection, too.

The latest installments of creative dance videos will premiere this week on American Ballet Theatre’s (ABT) YouTube page. Eight new dance films created by current and former ABT company members make their virtual debut this Wednesday and Thursday. Dubbed “Moving Stories: An ABT Film Festival,” the two hour-long events will be hosted by ABT principal–and arguably their most famous dancer–Misty Copeland along with Emmy Award-winning producer Leyla Fayyaz.

Embarking on a career in dance is never easy. In these days of pandemic, class of 2020 college dance graduates find their original plans to enter the profession have all but derailed. Our changing times have forced four Chicago area rising professionals into finding innovative ways to keep in shape, shifting gears entirely or remaining in holding patterns. Challenges they face are great, but these former students look toward the future with determination and they aim to prepare for whatever it may bring.

With safety guidelines keeping theater doors largely shuttered this fall, the order of the day for Chicago’s dance companies is experimentation. While many have gone with wholly digital seasons, a few groups are testing new models for live performance through a combination of social distancing, outdoor performances and hybrid live and online options. According to our critics, here is a sampling of some of this season’s events to look out for:

What started out as a selfish endeavor turned into something wonderful: an all-inclusive training space with a collection of some of Chicago’s finest dance teachers and affordable pricing. The Chicago Movement Collective (CMC) may have been born out of necessity but has the potential to redefine a crucial part of the city’s arts scene. “The idea started back in March when COVID-19 first hit and studios were closing down,” CMC founder Ethan Kirschbaum said. “I lost a lot of work. I wondered how I was going to make up those lost classes. Basically, how do I cover my own ass?”

This weekend Links Hall enters into a new era of arts curation and presentation with the culmination of the 96 Hours project: a play off of the typical 24-hour theater project or 48-hour film process. On Saturday at 1, 3 and 5 p.m., three teams of artists (listed below) will present their 20-45min creations from (you guessed it) a 96-hour creation process. On Sunday, the works will stream again consecutively at 5 p.m., followed by a virtual Q&A with the artists. 

“’Revel’ is a gift of love. We made it, in some ways, for ourselves as a gift of love and flight and enjoyment. And if the film lands with someone else as a gift, or as a provocation, or as—whatever it lands as—then the film has done its work.” Alice Sheppard

“My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my faith, my knowledge, my being...When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people, to help humanity free itself from its hangups...I want to speak to their souls.”

― John Coltrane

“Pivot and find the blessing.” Sage words of advice from Jacqueline Sinclair, artistic director of Joel Hall Dancers & Center (JHDC) in the time of coronavirus. The mission of “awakening the dancer in everyone’s soul” is still intact at JHDC, but in recent years they took a smart turn toward sustainability. That’s all Sinclair. She led the charge breaking down the old business model, enlisting artists to do the administrative work and began working on a legacy project and performance—as well as hunting for a new space to house JHDC.