Nothing is more charged in the American consciousness today than immigration policy and racial and cultural divides. Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre (CRDT) winds up its 20th anniversary season with a powerhouse repertory of emotionally-driven works that address these issues in “America/Americans,” running from Sept. 27-Oct. 26 in two alternating concert programs.
“It’s a family.” This is what kept coming up in my conversation with Nicole Gifford, co-producer of Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival (HCCDF)—one of the longest-running contemporary dance festivals in Chicago—which will celebrate its tenth anniversary starting this weekend. Since 2010, Gifford and Melissa Mallinson have gathered dance artists from around the world at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts to “share and celebrate the work of practicing contemporary dance artists and companies,” said Gifford in an interview.
How about a one-night-only collaboration of local, independent artists at a unique event space all to benefit a beloved charity? Sounds good to us! Dancing to Dream is coming to fruition this weekend after many months of preparation, dedication and cooperation. “This project has been in the works for about a year,” says Jacqueline Stewart, founder and choreographer of Jaxon Movement Arts and creator of Dancing to Dream, a performance benefitting the Make-A-Wish ® Foundation. “Everything came together piece-by-piece. I wanted to make something bigger than just a dance production.”
Chicago Dancers United (CDU) is what Dance for Life is all about. As the umbrella organization which produces the annual Dance for Life gala and performance, CDU unites Chicago dancers of all stripes to provide assistance for dance professionals experiencing health crises. It has become a unique emblem for what Chicago dance is all about as well.
Chicago’s dance calendar marks the end of summer with Dance for Life and the SummerDance Celebration. Or, rather than signaling the end of summer, maybe these beloved dance events – one that’s nearly 30 years old and another that's in year three – sound the alarms that fall dance is on the way. Before then, there’s still a lot of dance to be seen, much of it using street dance to tell stories. From re-imagined fairy tales to personal encounters with the criminal justice system, hip-hop and street dance artists are drawing from a well of rich narratives on Chicago’s stages this month.
“We’re the bridge in to concert dance,” said Katie McCann, director of Dance in the Parks (DIP), a series of free summer dance performances at local parks throughout Chicago. Now in its 11th season, DIP will visit 14 parks during the month of July featuring many dance styles, nine professional dancers and eight area choreographers. “We’re not trying to change the dance community. It’s here. It’s awesome. We’re trying to be the ‘bridge’ and get more people into it,” said McCann.
While a majority of our bigger dance venues and organizations are on hiatus for the summer, many professional dancers scatter to teach summer workshops. Even here in Chicago, there are a number of high caliber dance intensives for pre-professional hopefuls to keep the month well-occupied. And for those of us who typically spend the rest of the year gazing at dance from the plush chairs of a theater, July is a call to get up, get outside, and put your dancing shoes on.
Ken Gasch and Chris McCray, co-director and artistic director (respectively) of The Vertical Side Show both remember their first Poonie’s Cabaret. Experienced separately, shortly after moving to Chicago (for Gasch, it was his first week here), Poonie’s Cabaret provided a warm welcome to two artists on the verge of establishing themselves in the Chicago dance community—and a look into the fresh voices of Chicago’s queer artists.
There are two basic timelines for any choreographic process. In the churn and burn world of big budget companies, two months can be a luxury, with as little as a week or two afforded to many choreographers creating for companies who present work multiple times a year.