Moving Dialogs: Culture in Motion

Mar 13, 2018 | By See Chicago Dance

* Our April 3 Moving Dialogs event is currently sold-out, with an event waiting list available. Tune in to our Facebook page on Tuesday, April 3 at 6:00pm for a Live Stream of this event: www.facebook.com/seechicagodance

Building and engaging dance audiences for Chicago-area dance organizations, and advocating for dance in Chicago, is a big part of our work, but it’s not all we do. Among our other programs, we also work to explore how dance relates to and enhances other fields in our multicultural, multiethnic, and multi-ability city with Moving Dialogs, an annual discussion series.

Moving Dialogs brings audiences and artists together for groundbreaking performances that aim to broaden and deepen understanding of the unique and sometimes surprising ways dance intersects with culture at large. Previous editions of Moving Dialogs have covered topics including feminism, diversity, and more. This year, See Chicago Dance is proud to bring you the latest installment of Moving Dialogs: Culture in Motion!

With three sessions spanning April to June, this unique series, which represents a collaboration between Chicago-area dance companies and cultural museums, explores the ways interpretive dance can add to the tangible objects and experiences in museums. Choreographers from three dance companies partner with curators from three museums to learn about the museums’ collections and heritage, selecting objects that inspire them. Then, based on the partnering curator’s advice, the choreographers create a dance that illuminates those objects and the cultural heritage they represent.

The three participating dance companies—VADCO/Valerie Alpert Dance Company, Chicago Dance Crash, and Synapse Arts—are partnering, respectively, with the Chinese American Museum of Chicago, the Haitian American Museum of Chicago, and the Indo American Heritage Museum, with each hosting one of the three events. The events take place on April 3, May 9, and June 5, and each lasts two hours, featuring the creative interpretation of the choreographer, a performance, and an open interaction with the audience. The curator, choreographer, and a moderator talk about their creative process, with those attending having a chance to dialog with the speakers and learn more about their decision-making and the art. All the events emphasize openness, dialog, and interaction with the audience.

Moving Dialogs aims to develop an understanding about the surprising and exciting ways dance might activate the objects and culture contained within the partnering museums. We hope the experiences help us gain insight into how a dance-driven creative interpretation might be successful in the future.