Preview

Protestors hoisting ragdoll ballerinas marched between the lyric opera house’s towering columns shouting, “Shame on you, shame on you!”

As the dimming foyer lights indicated that the show was about to begin, I snagged one of the protestors to ask what all the fuss was about.

“These artists are from Russia,” said a young woman, “They are going to take the money to Russia and those money [sic] are going to go to bomb Ukraine and kill our families.”

“The Joffrey Ballet?” I asked.

Fans of dance in Chicago know where to look to find their favorite artists and companies. Up and coming artists regularly grace the blonde-wood floor of Links Hall. Larger companies fill the main stages at the Athenaeum up north and the Studebaker downtown. Local legacy and out of town touring companies put on must-see shows at the Auditorium or the Harris.

Of all the theaters who host dance, the name Steppenwolf rarely comes to mind. But that may be about to change thanks to the LookOut series.

“Trap Moulin Rouge by Jasmin Taylor, in co-production with Motion/Pictures Dance Project, takes audiences to Chicago’s South Side to showcase the vibrant Black culture and dance that emanate from it. Taking sonic and aesthetic inspiration from the 2001 film “Moulin Rouge,” Trap Moulin Rouge combines classical, R&B and jazz melodies with a variety of dance styles with the aim of creating and promoting equity in Chicago through the performing arts.” - via Art on theMART

Yum! Just as Joffrey dancer Fernando Duarté’s delectable Mother Nutcracker blithely cracks walnuts atop her house, Joffrey Ballet’s 2022 edition of its production cracks open hallowed traditions of the best-known, longest-lived and most universally-performed ballet, dating back to its premiere in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892.

Organic healing and growth serve as the foundation for a new work, “Things Hidden and Left Unsaid,” by Joanna Read and Same Planet Performance Project.

Dance what you can’t say; Joanna Read and Same Planet explore the things that we don’t say in “Things Hidden and Left Unsaid” at Dovetail.

There is no doubt that life was hard during the COVID pandemic, however, dancers found a way to create work and keep moving. Notable and emerging artists continued to produce work during the lockdown phase, often dealing with the topics of isolation and loneliness, but also optimism and hope. But how might the creative process be affected if the same work were created during and after the height of the COVID pandemic?

“Fill me in on your new dancers,” I asked executive director of Giordano Dance Chicago Michael McStraw in a recent phone interview. Little did I know my innocent query would be met by a heartwarming story of peril, determination, survival, and, ultimately transformation during the COVID Pandemic.

“GDC almost didn’t make it through the Pandemic. The loss of revenue was catastrophic,” McStraw said. Thanks to a federal emergency grant they were able to re-hire and bring back all the dancers.

For hundreds of years the story of Ram, the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, has remained a family favorite. Ram’s journey as told in the text of the Ramayana is the embodiment of chivalry and virtue. For centuries, entire communities would gather to witness the story of Ram told through the expressive art form of Bharatanatyam dance.

In the past, this performance could last 14 days, with a different story being told each day. However, if you don’t have 2 weeks of free time at your disposal, then you’re in luck.

The sun was setting as I squinted at an address on the side of a residential stone house. My only other direction was “in the garage”; So, I crept around the side of the building and encountered a sign on a closed chain link gate, which spelled out in big, bold letters:

“MAKE DO”

Past the gate wound a path that led to a small garage. Dim lights shown in the windows. Before I could touch the handle, the door swung open. They had been expecting me.