Preview

On July 1, American Ballet Theatre (ABT) rolled out of New York City on an eight-city bus tour of outdoor performances covering 3,100 miles. Chicago is the third stop, where they will perform on the Pritzker Pavilion stage in Millennium Park this Thursday. Presented free to the public by the Auditorium Theatre, where the company usually dances when in town, “ABT Across America” is a “gift to Chicago” and thank you to the Auditorium’s supporters, according to a released statement from CEO Rich Regan.

A week before their annual fundraiser and scheduled 20th anniversary concert, Aerial Dance Chicago (ADC), like the rest of the world, shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. While those events were cancelled, ADC jumped back into the studio sooner than most and became a leader in safety protocols for the Chicago dance community. With some ups and downs over the past year, they took the time to explore new ideas which will be featured in their upcoming performances of “Searchlight.” The concert includes five premieres which, in part, are inspired by the “experience of being alive.”

Think back to the days of old-school arcade games—every avatar and virtual landscape pixelated and colorful. Now get ready to embrace it in the 21st century. Lucky Plush Productions is bringing a hardcore dose of nostalgia to Chicago on June 25 and 26 with their innovative festival, “The Map of Now.” 

“Zafiro Flamenco” swaps drama and steamy sensuality for celebratory light-heartedness in Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater's first live, in-person concert since COVID-19 restrictions shut down all public performances a year and a half ago. The festival launches the Ensemble’s postponed 45th anniversary season in a hybrid program June 18-20 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. The Saturday night concert will be both live and live-streamed.

The South Side Chicago Arts Center (SSCAC) has long been a place of exhibition, incubation and connection to African American art and artists through educational and artistic programs, exhibitions, talks, tours, and more. Founded in 1940, the SSCAC is a Chicago historic landmark and is the oldest African American art center in the U.S., featuring works from some of its founding members alongside new commissions by up-and-coming artists. Unfortunately, due to Coronavirus, the center is closed to the public and is only open for limited public engagements.

A deluge of dance is upon us in Chicago. As restrictions on live performance are increasingly relaxed, the flood gates are newly open and the performing arts, determined as ever, are springing back to life.

Chicago Dance Month is an annual celebration and amplification of Chicago’s diverse dance scene. Established in 2013, Chicago Dance Month, typically in April, draws attention to the wealth of local productions that takes place each spring after national tours of big companies like American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater roll through town in late winter. 

Artists have to make art to thrive. It’s that simple, because if you don’t, the creative muscle atrophies, or worse. If you’re an artist and you can’t make art, your soul tends to sputter and cough and gasp for breath, just to stay alive. This is especially true, both literally and figuratively, for dance artists, for whom the physical danger, isolation and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have been especially tough.

Traducción al español encontrada aquí. Spanish translation found here.

English translation found here. Traducción en inglés encontrada aquí.

This weekend the 2021 Co-MISSION Festival of New Works opens featuring seven local artists with a variety of backgrounds. Presented by Links Hall, the virtual performances span two weekends and cover multiple genres including performance art, puppetry, installation, performance as social practice, and of course, dance. All performances are pre-recorded to be streamed on YouTube. Two panel discussions with Co-MISSION artists and other Chicago creators will also be streamed via Zoom, as well as a choreographic workshop/class led by Taimy Ramos Velazquez.