Extroversion versus introversion and experimentation are at the core of the immersive, world premiere performances of Under(cover) dubbed “a moveable episode of dance, sound, light and space.” The brainchild of Robyn Mineko Williams brings together original music, lighting, dance and projections in an interactive environment.
A quietly understated miracle has been taking place every day for the past seven years in a not-so-quiet corner of 17 N. State Street, under the exacting eyes of Ballet Chicago Artistic Director Daniel Duell and his wife, Associate Artistic Director Patricia Blair. (The company, established in 1987, moved to its current location in 2009.)
The 2015 death of Paul Christiano affected so many parts of Chicago’s dance community, but few companies were hit harder than Nomi Dance Company, where Christiano was a dancer and trusted advisor to Artistic Director Laura Kariotis. While Nomi’s production last fall showed some signs of this loss, the company’s spring show, Reminiscence (a one-nighter May 14 at the Athenaeum), demonstrated strength, resilience, and growth. How fitting that the program was dedicated to Christiano, a man whose strength and resilience were continually challenged.
Joffrey Ballet’s lavish production of Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella (Auditorium Theater, May 11-22) is a gift of classical ballet on its grandest scale, but with a stroke of modernity, a glittering finish to the company’s sixtieth anniversary season.
By Sharon Hoyer
Racism, sexism, homophobia, the hypocrisy of Victorian mores in post-World War II America, the military draft lottery and the Viet Nam War all fueled a stormy climate that gave rise to the 60’s protest era and the counter-culture rock music that accompanied it.
A hip hop/contemporary work on Wrong & Right.
Kyle Abraham is a Renaissance man in almost every sense.
Miami City Ballet cruised into town this past Friday with a luscious program that soared on a wave of musical complexity and choreographic brilliance. In each of the three large-scale ballets in the first of its two-program weekend, killer choreography showed off the company’s technical chops, while superb movement design made grand partnerships with great symphonic music, performed live by the Chicago Philharmonic. If Friday’s program was any indication, music is important to the Miami City Ballet. What a treat!
Inspired in part by varying scales of extroversion vs. introversion, UNDER(cover) is set in an intimate, somewhat immersive environment, uniquely built to engage audiences in a less conventional, more visceral way. An experience that is shaped by you.