Preview

MADISON, WI — As some colleges abruptly shift to remote learning in the wake of coronavirus outbreaks this fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) stands poised to reopen, offering a hybrid of remote and face-to-face instruction. The hybrid model would pose a challenge for any dance studio, but the UW Dance Department has created a detailed plan that they hope will be safe and beneficial for returning students.

Building a supportive network of global connections is at the core of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. I was hired at Deeply Rooted in May 2020 as the company's individual giving manager, and have since come to hold the principles of the company as my own. We are a company dedicated to re-imagining the aesthetics of contemporary dance by uniting modern, ballet and African traditions in dance and storytelling. The company’s participation in JOMBA! has been critical to their achievement of that goal. 

In normal times, Natya Dance Theatre (NDT) performs multiple times a year in various theaters in the Chicagoland area and teaches hundreds of students the art of bharatanatyam— in person—from studios in Chicago, Naperville and Downers Grove. These are not normal times. How does one of the most “critically acclaimed Indian dance companies in the United States” deal with a global pandemic? Like everyone else, they go virtual. “I’m not very well-versed in technological things,” said Hema Rajagopalan, NDT’s artistic director. Luckily, her co-artistic director (and daughter) Krithika is.

The Hyde Park School of Dance (HPSD) has been open on the South Side since 1993, but like most institutions, things look a little different this year. As a non-profit school, HPSD is governed by a board of directors, some of who are doctors at the University of Chicago. The impact of the coronavirus and rumors of the impending shutdown were discussed and the decision was made to close the school on March 14—a few days before an executive order issued by Gov. Pritzker closed all K-12 schools in the state.

I started listening to Phish again.

Phish was the first “cool” band I listened to. I grew up on classical and classic rock, feeling the equivalent weight and cultural relevance of Beethoven and the Beatles. It wasn’t until I started listening to Phish in high school that those two sonic worlds magically collided. I was totally hooked. Bad pun.

We are over five months into “shut down” due to the COVID-19 outbreak, precariously perched between Phase 3 and Phase 4 of re-opening. It was just announced that Chicago Public Schools will be fully remote for the start of the school year on Sept. 8 through the first quarter. The country is in full tilt mode where news alerts generate more questions than definitive answers. But there is a silver lining in all this pandemic uncertainty: the dance community has shifted, adjusted and gotten creative to keep things moving.

Navigating new spaces—physical, psychological and political—is nothing new for the Space Movement Project (TSMP), but COVID-19 has thrust this troupe of six dancers into new spaces they had little expectation of exploring through dance: their own homes.

In the shift to virtual dance, many artists look to engage audiences with talk of the innovation and creativity that’s gone into this alternate way of viewing performance. But for Dance in the Parks director Katie McCann, the need for virtual performances is much simpler. At the root of her efforts to move the 2020 Dance in the Parks season online—a season performed any other year outdoors in public parks—is the plain fact that it’s her job to facilitate dance. It’s her job to perform and to use art to comment on the world around us. 

“When there’s a crisis—not that we’ve ever experienced anything like this—we do what we have to do. I refuse to let this be the death of our organization.” 

Links Hall is a space that champions artists’ potential. The people who work at Links both respect and recognize individuals with innovative ideas and hold equity and inclusivity in high regard. From affordable studio rentals to the venue's ever-important fellowship programs, Links Hall has proved itself to be of great value to the arts community in Chicago. And in the face of everything that’s been thrown their way in the last year, they’re maintaining and improving on their value.