The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago is postponing our presentation of choreographer Qudus Onikeku in his U.S. debut and his work Spirit Child, previously scheduled for March 13 and 14.
We were unable to obtain temporary artist visas for four musicians coming from Lagos, Nigeria as part of the project. By postponing to the fall, we hope we can ensure the full cast and realization of Onikeku's artistic vision.
Thank you to Senator Tammy Duckworth, Senator Richard Durbin, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly, and the FACE Foundation for their support of this project and for advocating for international artists as part of the lengthy visa application process.
Those who have already purchased tickets for the engagement of Onikeku can call the box office (312-369-8330) for a refund, or consider their ticket purchase a hugely appreciated donation to the Dance Center which will help propel our work into the next season.
The scheduled performances of Abby Z and the New Utility are still on for April 9-11.
The Dance Center will present Qudus Onikeku in the fall as part of our 2020–21 season, to be announced on May 1.
-Ellen Chenoweth
Director of Dance Presenting Series
Spirit Child is inspired by the main character in Nigerian author Ben Okri’s Booker Prize winning novel, The Famished Road. The spirit child, Azaro, is restless, caught between life and death, Earth-bound reality and an idyllic spirit world. Onikeku along with Uruguayan artist Fernando Velazquez and musicians, has created an atmosphere of transition between the enchanted world of dreams and spirits and the world of the living, a space where everything glows with possibilities. Spirit Child offers the audience a meditative journey into dreamscapes, creating a poetry that brings a new kind of truth, or an old truth that we stopped paying attention to.
