“(Artistic Director Robert Battle) has already put his stamp on the company, having essentially taken it into the 21st century,” says the Chicago Tribune. Wheeldon. Dove. Naharin. McGregor. And of course – Ailey himself. Since Battle took over the company in 2011, these are just a few of the choreographers Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has presented during their annual residency on our historic stage.
The Auditorium Theatre is proud to be one of five co-commissioners, along withThe Ravinia Festival, of Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour. The program presentstwo world premieres that commemorates Tharp’s five decades of dance-making for both modern dance and ballet companies, television, the Broadway stage, and Hollywood films. The group of performers is comprised of 12 dancers, many of whom have worked with Tharp over the years, with music by J.S. Bach, Henry Butler, Steve Bernstein, and John Zorn.
“A captivating spectacle… a brilliant visual and theatrical sense,” raves the New York Times about Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández. The Chicago Sun-Times says “it is far more than a world-renowned dance company. For the past 60 years it has served as a cultural ambassador of Mexico and become an imaginative repository of the country’s multi-layered history and rich anthropology.” Experience the colorful sights and enchanting sounds of Mexico for one weekend only!
“Thank Dance Its Friday! (TDIF!),” a FREE dance concert series hosted by Audience Architects in partnership with the Chicago Loop Alliance at 4pm every Friday from August 7 - September 4. TDIF! will feature three to five diverse dance companies at Pritzker Park, located at 310 S. State Street during rush hour. Come see Chicago's top dance artists performing Ballet to Bollywood, and all styles in between. These performances will be sure to kick your weekend off right!
Line up:
AUGUST 7, 4PM
4:00-4:40pm - Joanna Furnans
New and original, and . . . relevant to today’s conversation about race.
—Washington Post
Presented by the Joffrey Academy of Dance in association with MCA
Presented as part of IN>TIME Festival
It’s like the craziest game of Twister you’ve ever seen, except taken to much deeper, provocative, metaphysical levels.
—This Week In New York
Presented as part of IN>TIME Festival
"A discourse on local conflicts, body politics, gender issues . . . that
liminal space between public and private. Everything is open, accessible
. . . intimate, and the result is fascinating."
—Dance Talk on Two Room Apartment
The program’s first work is a world premiere by New York choreographer and Chicago native Preston Miller. And Mercy explores concepts of judgment, grace and mercy in an athletic, contemporary style that engages the eye in continuous, connected movement emerging seamlessly from the music.