Editor's note: In the last moments of my conversation with See Chicago Dance's outgoing executive director Heather Hartley (of which you can read part one here and part two here), I asked her to name something she was surprised that See Chicago Dance has been able to accomplish, as well as any unfinished business she's leaving behind.
Editor's note: Yesterday I shared the first part of my "exit interview" with See Chicago Dance's outgoing executive director Heather Hartley. Here we chat a little more about the origins of the orginization and some reflection on how to tackle ongoing challenges in Chicago's dance community. Tomorrow I'll share some of my conversation with interim executive director Surinder Martignetti about her role keeping the ship afloat as SCD seeks new leadership.
Editor's note: As Heather Hartley, the former executive director of See Chicago Dance, and her husband Phil Reynolds, the former executive director of Chicago Dancers United, embark on the next phase of their careers in North Carolina with a new organization called Trillium Arts, I had the pleasure of chatting with Heather for nearly an hour about her time in Chicago, the progress made and challenges that remain at See Chicago Dance, and what's next for her and Phil. I found it tricky to boil down our conversation into sound bites, and frankly, I think all of it's worth reading.
Dance is so in-the-moment that it’s often gone before we can register what we’ve seen. Hubbard Street’s summer series, closing season 41, gives us a welcome second look at four stellar works from company repertoire: two duets, “A Picture of You Falling,” and “The Other You” (2010) by Crystal Pite, Alejandro Cerrudo’s “Out of Your Mind,” (2018), and a reworking of Brian Brooks’s “Terrain” (2016). Performances take place at the Harris Theater June 6, 8 and 9.
Chicago is known for its people and the way in which we create our own communities, make things out of nothing, our ingenuity and innovation. Chicago’s dance community has a long history of creating its own spaces where artists can experiment and commune together.
Summers in Chicago are all about getting outdoors, having fun in the sun and eating food on a stick. In the past decade, the number of chances to see dance in the summer has grown enormously, and in June especially, there’s an abundance of performances – indoors and outside – that might captivate your summer soul.
A life in the arts often means there’s an inevitability of being pulled in many directions. Take even a cursory glance at a recent report, “Mapping the Dance Landscape in Chicagoland”– a joint effort between See Chicago Dance, Candid, and Sustain Arts – and it’s clear that a majority of Chicago’s dancers and dancemakers are overworked and underpaid.
This Friday and Saturday at Links Hall might be our last chance to see a Mordine & Company Dance Theater performance, at least for a little while. Celebrating their 50th anniversary season, this contemporary company founded and directed by the legendary Shirley Mordine, has put together an evening of performance featuring six works. Three pieces are remounts or “re-imaginings” of repertory that find new relevance in today’s socio-political climate, while the other three are new creations by company members mentored by Mordine.
Chicago dance sizzles with rising talent in a number of distinguished studio companies grooming the next generation of dancers for professional careers. Ballet Chicago, founded in 1987 by husband and wife team Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair, is a shining example of the impressive technical accomplishment and artistic integrity such companies can bring to the staging of established repertoire and the development of new works.
Sara Zalek moved to Chicago in 2004, but the first time I remember seeing her perform was in 2014. She was swaddled in Saran wrap, laying horizontally, like a wake, atop a vinyl air mattress. We all patiently waited for her platform to inflate, then Zalek danced a topsy-turvy, hilarious balance exercise as she rose to her feet on that airbed.