JULY NEWSLETTER
2009-07-01 4:43:29 PM
We are thrilled to unveil the new and improved SeeChicagoDance.com! Check out the new features including sharing options for social networking sites, RSS feeds, expanded hot deals and reviews written by veteran writer Sid Smith (who also writes for the Chicago Tribune) and dance critic Zachary Whittenburg. Read below for a preview of July’s upcoming dance events compiled by Sid Smith.
By Sid Smith:
June was indeed bustin' out all over with dance, a busy time for a reputedly vacation month. The real lull, in fact, arrives with July and a lighter calendar, though far from an empty or, for that matter, arid one.For starters, a novel idea will be explored in a novel space. The Epiphany Dance Experiment continues its perusal of adventurous dance and performance art July 12 in the gorgeous, historic, west Loop Epiphany Episcopal Church, whose movable pews allow for a flexible playing area. Post-show discussions will be held to further shed light on the works and their relevance to current aesthetic, philosophical and composition issues in Chicago dance. The program includes "(s)he," directed and improvised by JulieAnn Graham, performed with Todd Kiech; "there is a way in which the body sleeps," choreographed by Britt Posmer, in collaboration with sound artist Lisa Abbatomarco and movement by Joshua Kent; "Weak," by Marissa Perel, in collaboration with Snorre Sjonost Henriksen and Colin Self; and "Not about Elvis Dance," choreographed and performed by Rachel Thorne Germond.While it's by no means exclusively dance, the one-of-a-kind spectacle "Cavalia" features plenty of choreography, albeit some involving horses. A kind of "Cirque du Soleil" on saddle, "Cavalia," July 14-26 under a big white tent at the intersection of Racine and Jackson streets in the west Loop, is a multimedia extravaganza involving music, song, dance, aerial acrobatics and, most of all, equestrian artistry--the 100-member cast includes 30 Lusitanian stallions.It may be July, but that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of new work, a great deal of it on view during Thodos Dance Chicago's presentation of the ninth annual "New Dances" festival July 17-19 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. In addition to work by special guest Elijah Gibson, choreographers include Christine Marie Rohde, Jessica Miller Tomlinson, Dori Santarsiere, Wade Schaaf, Justin Sears, Jackie Stewart, Natalie Tursi and the collaborative team of Jeremy Blair and Mollie Mock.The richly varied, ever lively Jazz Dance World Festival returns to wake up even the most languorous summer deck chair potatoes--cool in style, maybe, but red hot in energy. The concert series that's part of this year's 16th installment will be held July 22-25 at the Harris Theater and include some 15 companies. Participants on tap include Japan's Masashi Action Machine (with two world premieres), Mexico's Cuerpo Etereo Danza Contemporanea, LehrerDance from Buffalo, and, of course, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, the host troupe. River North Chicago Dance Company, the Joel Hall Dancers and the Jump Rhythm Jazz Dance Project are also on the bill. The various programs each feature a different roster picked from the overall list of participants--no two concerts, in other words, are the same.The always striking, always brave Breakbone DanceCo returns with "Excavation of Remains," a bill of new exploratory works, July 29-Aug. 7 at the Hamlin Park Theatre. It's devised via a new working process for artistic director Atalee Judy, one she describes as more cerebral, for what she calls a "slimmed down company."And DanceWorks Chicago's ongoing series, DanceBytes, will be on view July 30 at the Harold Washington Library. The program blends dance performance with behind-the-scenes information and insight. The creation of new work and the dances themselves serve as vehicles for performers and audience members to investigate a wide range of techniques, styles and aesthetic approaches.
