Screendance Club in review: You have our attention—we’re watching, part II

Nov 24, 2021 | By Gregory King

Editor's note: Last March, See Chicago Dance kicked off Screendance Club, a bi-monthly dance film watch party and guided discussion. While I personally haven't been enthusiastic about digital dance, Screendance Club was a perpetual joy throughout the year. The curators each wrote beautiful responses about their experiences with the films they chose, all published here on See Chicago Dance. In addition, SCD writer-at-large Gregory King shares his reflections on the series as a whole in a two-part essay.

Screendance Club in review: You have our attention—we’re watching, part I

Nov 23, 2021 | By Gregory King

Editor's note: Last March, See Chicago Dance kicked off Screendance Club, a bi-monthly dance film watch party and guided discussion. While I personally haven't been enthusiastic about digital dance, Screendance Club was a perpetual joy throughout the year. The curators each wrote beautiful responses about their experiences with the films they chose, all published here on See Chicago Dance. In addition, SCD writer-at-large Gregory King shares his reflections on the series as a whole in a two-part essay. The first part is below. Enjoy!

Califone & Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists: In The Round

Califone and Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists come together for a special in the round performance of their acclaimed collaboration, Echo Mine. Echo Mine was inspired by and created alongside Williams’ longtime mentor, Chicago dance icon and founding Hubbard Street dancer Claire Bataille. “The five-minute solo for Claire that we made together serves as the source material, the heartbeat, of Echo Mine,” says Williams. Bataille was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer one month after their first rehearsal in October 2017.

Ragamala Dance Company: Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim

Bharatanatyam choreographers Ranee Ramaswamy and Aparna Ramaswamy’s Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim evokes an elaborate ritual where time is suspended and humans merge with the divine. Through images that reflect the cosmic trinity of Varanasi, India — sacred pilgrimage routes, the Ganges River, and the patron deity Shiva, heightened by the chants of Vedic priests —  the choreographers imagine a metaphorical crossing place where one may leave the mundane and enter into the world of immortality. 

Language of dance transcends cultural borders in South Chicago Dance Theatre’s third annual festival

Nov 5, 2021 | By Lynn Colburn Shapiro

She speaks no Korean, he speaks little English, but the language of dance transcends all cultural barriers in the collaboration at the center of the third annual South Chicago Dance Festival. Sponsored by South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT), the festival’s mission is to foster cultural diplomacy through movement, a language that needs no translation.

Of, for and made in Chicago: Deeply Rooted's triumphant return to the stage dazzles at the Aud

Oct 26, 2021 | By Sophie Allen

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (DRDT) concluded its 25th anniversary season at the Auditorium Theatre Oct. 23 with “Roots & Wings,” a one-night only program of viscerally transformative dance and dance theater works. The momentous show ignited the space between tradition and innovation, featuring classic repertory pieces by co-founders Gary Abbott and Kevin Iega Jeff, a company premiere of Ulysses Dove’s “Episodes,” and a preview of DRDT’s latest interdisciplinary collaboration, “Goshen.”