Ensemble Español is touted as “the premiere Spanish dance company and center in the U.S.” A title like that is a lot to live up to; fortunately, they’ve got a rich history of performance to back it up.
Fresh off the heels and success of “Soul Remedy,” choreographed by the accomplished Monique Haley, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre continued their Spring Concert Series for the third consecutive weekend with “Identity City.”
By now, fans of the Chicago dance scene know about South Chicago Dance Theatre. We’ve seen them on some of the biggest stages—The Harris Theater, The Jay Pritzker Pavilion—but one famous stage has thus far eluded the company. No more! SCDT performs “Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley” at the Auditorium Theatre on June 10th at 7:30pm, a milestone for the company and a potential highlight of the summer season of dance.
This Summer, pistils meet epistemology as The Seldoms dance company celebrates their 20th anniversary by asking, “Why is a flower beautiful?” The more you think of the question the more elusive the answer seems to be.
Perhaps spoken language is not fit for such metaphysical quandaries. Instead, perhaps the language of dance can succeed where spoken words fail.
The art and dance scene can be highly competitive, with team-ups being relegated superheroes in action movies. But in a post-pandemic world the stakes are higher and the cost of producing work is more precarious than ever. Some dancers have started to band together, choosing to work together to overcome the obstacles of an ever-shifting arts landscape.
The phrase “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice” has taken on different meanings since the first recorded use in the late 19th century. At once a term of affection, more recently the phrase has become a metaphor for how slavery in the United States has affected Black communities, the metaphorical fruit that grew from numerous African ethnicities being forced together through inequality, discrimination and oppression.
John Neumeier’s surrealist psychological take on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale, “The Little Mermaid,” written in 1836, pays close attention to the 19th-century author’s cosmology. “Be careful what you wish for” could easily be the subtitle for both cautionary tales.
Grounded, erky-jerky movements with cave-like crawling are not the typical description you would use when describing a ballet performance. And yet, this is precisely the goal. Ballet 5:8 is not your average or typical dance company. Rooted in faith, led by a Latina woman and intentionally collaborating with women designers who prioritize sustainability, Ballet 5:8 is unwavering in their eleventh season with their unique vision to ensure ballet is fresh, functional and accessible to everyone.