As the last days of summer pass by, we begin to acknowledge fall as a welcome inevitability. Tees and shorts seem to abruptly turn into jeans and jackets. School is back in session, the leaves start to turn, and dance season has officially begun.
Autumn is also a time for harvest. Every September for the last six years, an unlikely group of performing artists come together to participate in the Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival. HCCDF is a tight-knit, yet ever-changing artistic collection led by the dedicated duo of Nicole Gifford and Melissa Mallinson, two mothers (they had their babies one week apart) who have a passion for dance and a knack for curating and producing programs.
Chicago has dance festivals for emerging artists and for larger companies, but noticing the lack of a dance festival for smaller, independent dancers and groups (particularly one with an open call policy); they decided to start their own. “We liked the idea of doing it in the fall,” said co-founder Giffords. “We like the idea of harvesting seeds you have sewn, seeds that have had a chance to develop and grow. That’s how the name came about.”
This year, HCCDF expands for the first time to offer performances over two consecutive weekends, allowing the artists an extra chance to perform and the audience another chance to witness it. This year, 18 groups from around the U.S. join forces for this unique two-weekend dance experience in the heart of the Gold Coast. Although the task of choosing gets more difficult each year – submissions have grown from 33 in 2010 to 172! – they have the process down pat, likening scheduling multiple deadlines to planning a wedding. Many groups submit the same works every year, which Giffords said is nice, because if it doesn’t fit one year, it might be perfect for the next. “We always vow to have an open mind,” Giffords said. “Our goal is to give the artists a chance to present their work with integrity next to other work they would feel impressed to perform with. We do have our differences in taste, but in the end, there’s no hung jury. We have to decide.”
Local artists performing include: Aerial Dance Chicago/Elements Contemporary Ballet, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Jay-Son Tisa Dance Company, Philip Elson, Giordano II, Jessica Miller Thomlinson Choreography, Mordine & Co. Dance Theater and RE|Dance Group.
Out-of-town artists include: Jacksonville Dance Threatre (FL), Rebecca Lemme/Acts of Matter (CA), Diane McNeal Hunt/ELEVATE DanceWorks (AZ), James Morrow/The Movement (MA), Nicole L. Olson and Scott Bodily (AZ), Andee Scott (FL), Weslie Ching (CA), Columbus Moving Company (OH), Hub Dance Collective/Rebecca McArthur (MS), and Keith Johnson/Dancers (CA).
Also new this year, on each Sunday, there will be a workshop taught by one of the out-of-town performing artists at the Ruth Page Center for Dance. Gifford and Mallinson plan to continue growing their extended family and hope to expand their board. One important goal is to be able to compensate the artists for their time and talent. “We don’t have an expiration date on this. We are going to continue to try and stay relevant. We want to continue growing. We are a family.”
Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival performs on Sept. 18-19 and Sept. 25-26 at 8PM at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. Tickets are $25 general admission, $18 military, seniors and students with valid ID. For more information, visit hccdf.com.