An onrush of pedestrian traffic flooded East Congress Parkway last Saturday night as dance enthusiasts from all corners of Chicago formed a mass promenade toward the Auditorium Theatre. They knew they were in for a treat. What’s more, they were participating in one of Chicago’s more remarkable humanitarian efforts: Dance For Life.
Paul Taylor established Taylor 2 in 1993 to ensure that his works could be seen by audiences all over the world, unhindered by economic or technical limitations. Mr. Taylor worked with longtime colleague Linda Hodes to create a company that could accommodate performance requests as well as teach and provide community outreach. Mr. Taylor looked back to the 1954 origins of the Paul Taylor Dance Company for the structure of his new company: six professionals with a particular gift for his style who perform his work throughout the world.
Run, don’t walk, to Chicago Dance Crash’s “The Bricklayers of Oz,” (Ruth Page Center for the Arts, July 28-August 5), a Hip-Hop prequel to L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz.” Tell your friends and bring the kids for a spectacularly entertaining 75-minutes of superb dancing, music you can’t resist no matter what your musical persuasion, and great storytelling that puts it all together with a real message, accompanied by the compelling lyrics and narration of Al Tamper, the rapper.
AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS:
DANCE FOR LIFE CHICAGO (August 19, 7:30 PM, Auditorium Theatre) is arguably the Chicago dance community’s single most significant event of the year. Unique in its scope, it serves as a model for the arts community throughout the country, uniting the very highest levels of artistic achievement with the very noblest of humanitarian endeavors in its annual showcase of what makes Chicago dance, and Chicago’s dancers, so very special.
As Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC) shifts its structure, embarking on new and exciting projects, it closes out the final performances of the season with New Dances 2017. The New Dances initiative began in 2000 and gives the dancers a chance to switch hats and take a turn at being not only the choreographer, but also the director. “For a three-month period, it’s like they’re running their own company,” said founder and artistic director Melissa Thodos.
Chicago Tap Theatre’s “Changes” retro-fires its rockets back to the future of 1940’s outer space drama in a production that revives a past success and forges new creative ground. (June 30-July 16, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 3 PM, Stage 773),
Strike up the band for July! Tap Dance dominates with the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s annual Rhythm World Festival (July 17-23) and Chicago Tap Theatre’s extended run of “Changes” (June 30-July 16). Joining the midsummer Chicago dance roster are three programs devoted to the development of new choreography: Cerqua Rivera (July 13), Thodos Dance Chicago (July 15-16) and DanceChance (July 28).
There are rare moments when a dance performance transcends itself and becomes something more. “Water Section,” excerpted from Alejandro Cerrudo’s evening-length “One Thousand Pieces” (2012) brought Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to that brink midway through a stunning opening night of the company’s 40th anniversary Summer Series (Thursday, June 8-Sunday, June 11, Harris Theater).