July brings a month of concerts that showcase new works by multiple choreographers, including Thodos Dance Chicago, Dance In The Parks, Hyde Park School of Dance, Dance Chance, and JUBA. Add to that concerts by solo artists Mitsu Salmon, Ahmad Simmons, and Tommy Tune, and full-company performances from Joel Hall Dancers, Muntu Dance Theatre, Natya Dance Theatre, Ayodele, Red Clay Dance, and The Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and you have a July that’s shaping up to be a great month to explore a diversity of dance styles, genres and cultures across Chicagoland.
Performances July 18 and 19 mark the 15th consecutive year of Thodos Dance Chicago’s “New Dances” series, Chicago’s earliest and most comprehensive in-house choreography series. In addition to eight exciting and diverse brand new works created by dancers in the company, each year a guest choreographer is hand-picked by artistic director Melissa Thodos from the dance community at large to create a new work for the project. The invited guest choreographer for New Dance’s 15th anniversary is Brian McGinnis, who had a professional performance career with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lisa Monte Dance, Parsons Dance Company, and Buglisi Dance Theatre.
New Dances
Thodos Dance Chicago’s New Dances series is one-of-a-kind, unique and admired nationally due to the length of time and depth of support afforded the Company’s artists, who are each invited to join Thodos Dance Chicago after auditioning and demonstrating their passion and skills not only as dancers, but also as choreographers and educators. Current Thodos ensemble members presenting new works at New Dances 2015 include John Cartwright, Tenley Dorrill, Abby Ellison, Kyle Hadenfeldt, Taylor Mitchell, Briana Robinson, Alissa Tollefson and Jessica Miller Tomlinson.
New Dances was first produced by the Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble in the late 1980s, where Melissa Thodos, before founding her own company, was an ensemble member and created her first early dance pieces. The impact of the early New Dances projects was so profound that she was passionate about recreating the project for her own company of dancers. When Chicago Repertory Dance closed, Thodos inherited the project, which she launched at Thodos Dance Chicago in 2001.
Today, by being nurtured and promoted from within the organization, Thodos ensemble members continue to gain much-needed hands on experience as choreographers backed with strong production skills, an experience specifically designed to serve them well both during and, perhaps most importantly, following their careers as performers. Since Thodos resurrected the project in 2001, New Dances has yielded 132 world premieres, while helping 73 Chicago-based choreographers and more than 300 dance artists develop and showcase their skills and build their reputations.
Many works from past New Dances have subsequently entered the repertory of Thodos Dance and have been showcased at festivals ranging from Jacob’s Pillow to Dance Chicago. Others have been embraced and received subsequent productions by noted directors Gerald Arpino of the Joffrey Ballet and Jim Vincent of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Thanks to New Dances, TDC dancer/choreographers have gone on to set works on the Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street, River North, Dutch National Ballet Project, Dance Kaleidoscope, Atlanta Ballet, Dance Works Chicago, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Idaho Dance Theatre, Grand Rapids Ballet, Giordano Dance Chicago, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and the second companies of Alvin Ailey and American Ballet Theater.
Dance in the Parks presents its seventh season of FREE, outdoor, professional dance concerts in Chicago city parks, beginning July 15th at 6:30 PM at Moran Playground Park, and continuing through August. In partnership with the Chicago Park District as part of Mayor Emanuel's Night Out in the Parks initiative, Dance in the Parks presents a program of works created by eight Chicago choreographers and performed by nine professional dancers. This year's program includes works by choreographers Rich Ashford, Peter Carpenter, Autumn Eckman, Kimberly Fletcher-Stibal, Cheryl Mann, Tom Mattingly, Emily Stein, and Jessica Miller Tomlinson. In addition to the professional performance, all Dance In The Parks concerts showcase local youth dance performances from each venue community.
On July 19th, The Hyde Park School of Dance and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts present Piece by Piece, a dance show created by multiple choreographers to benefit children with autism, produced by 12-year-old Shaina Grossman. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Beard Elementary school, a CPS school for children on the autism spectrum.
Other July productions of note begin the month with “On Your Feet,” the musical story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan, continuing its run through July 5th at the Oriental Theatre.
Laboratory Dancers continues its First Wednesday Open Mic series July 1st at The Fukton Street Collective.
Choreographer Ahmad Simmons and director Kacie Smith’s “THEM,” July 9-26th, is the culmination of Simmons’ Lab Artist Award from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum and an Individual Program Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. Thedance-theater exploration of the fear, discrimination, and violence that result from categorizing ourselves and creating an “other” or “them” in our community.
THEM
On July 16th, sponsored Artist Mitsu Salmon presents “TSUCHI,” her multidisciplinary solo dance piece Tsuchi on July 16th at High Concept Labs. “TSICHI” draws from Salmon’s grandfather’s experience growing up in Hawaii as a Japanese-American, and then as an American GI in Japan. The work explores questions of family and modernization through Butoh, Nihon Buyo (Japanese folk dance), contemporary dance, and everyday movements with music and text. Nihon Buyo and Butoh are heavily influenced by farming and a connection with the earth. Similarly, Tsuchi examines earth and roots as connected to the body, heritage, and place. The work is a collaboration between Salmon, sound artist Alyssa Moxley, accordionist Ryotaro and musician Kevin Carey. A preview of Tsuchi was performed in April as part of the Post Butoh Festival in Chicago.
Ayodele and red Clay Dance present “Rhythmic Fusions: An African | Afro-Contemporary Dance” from 4-6 PM on July 18th at Hamilton Park is a an evening of family-friendly fun with a movement workshop taught by T. Ayo Alston and Vershawn Sanders Ward featuring DJ Nick Nonstop; followed by a performance by both companies. Bring the young ones to Kidz Korner for a movement workshop and arts and crafts.
Also on the 18th, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago brings its summer installation of “Healing Hearts” to the Logan Center for the Arts.
Check out Maggie Daley Park on the 24th at 6 PM for Natya Dance Theatre’s “Avata” on the 24th. Based on the mythology of India, Avatar - Incarnations presents narratives that express the oneness of all nature, as one energy transforms into another. Natya Dance Theatre dancers employ percussive footwork and dynamic movements, along with hand gestures and facial expressions to allow characters to come alive.
Natya Dance Theatre
Joel Hall Dancers makes its Ravinia appearance on the 26th at 5 PM.
Also on the 26th, you can join the students of Institute for the Rhythmic Arts (IFTRA) and Youth Tap Ensemble Conference (YTEC) on July 26th for an evening of unforgettable talent from the next generation of American foot and body drummers. The performance will include youth tap ensembles from across the country.
The Chicago Human Rhythm Project features Rhythm World faculty, Vijay Tellis Nayak (Music Director), and special guests for Jazz Showcase 2015 on July 27th.
The Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) launches the twenty-fifth festival of American tap and percussive dance with ten-time Tony Award and National Medal of the Arts winner Tommy Tune, performing his one-man show Taps, Tunes and Tall Tales, at the July 30th Gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) with Michael Biagi on piano. Crowning the illustrious evening, which includes a reception and dinner, Tune receives the CHRP 25th Anniversary JUBA! Award for Extraordinary Lifetime Achievement.
Topping off July’s month-long fireworks on the 31st and August 1st are JUBA ‘s culminating performances on the MCA stage at 7:30 PM Upcoming and international masters of American tap connect with the singular Billy Strayhorn, the late legendary pianist, composer, and collaborator with Duke Ellington, for this evening of new arrangements by Greg Spero as well as new choreography set to his cherished songbook, including Take the A Train. Headliners include Martin “Tre” Dumas and Nico Rubio of Jus’LisTeN, tour de force soloists Starinah Dixon and Jumaane Taylor, both recognized by Dance Spirit Magazine, Dani Borak (Switzerland), Marina Coura (Brazil), Yukiko Misumi (Japan), and others.
JUBA!
For details and tickets to all of these wonderful events, go to: seechicagodance.com and click on “Upcoming Events.”
Lynn Colburn Shapiro
Editor