The tagline for River North Dance Chicago’s (RNDC) 25th anniversary season was never more appropriate than onstage at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance last weekend. A delightfully understated RNDC stripped away some of the usual glitz and glamor to reveal purity, vulnerability, and simplicity in its Fall Engagement. That is, until the men and women of “RivNo” jazz walked out in unitards, high ponytails and high-topped jazz boots for the electric revival of Sherry Zunker’s 1992 “Reality of a Dreamer.” Appropriately dated, everything from Todd L.

Simple, deliberate, meditative--these are the qualities that dominated “River-Mouth-Ocean: Explorations in Afro-Asian Futurism,” presented this past weekend at Links Hall by choreographers Peggy Choy and Onye Ozuzu. The theme of water united the two halves of the program, one flowing into the other with an intermission separating the works of each choreographer. Themes ranging from ecology and Caribbean ocean  mythology to bioluminescence and female solidarity lent a heady tone to the evening that was sometimes elucidating, sometimes mystifying. 

“We can dance together; we are humans of the world!” says Cuba’s DanzAbierta resident choreographer Susana Pous, taking a break from her company’s joint rehearsal with Chicago’s Hedwig Dances. Dancing together is exactly what the two companies will be doing in their collaborative concert, “Trade Winds/Aires de Cambio,” (Air of Change) this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, October 9th-11th at the Dance Center of Columbia College. 

When the first installment of Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival (HCCDF) appeared five years ago, it wasn’t clear why Chicago needed another fall dance fest. In 2009, with Dance Chicago in its 15th year at the Atheneum and Chicago Moving Company’s Other Dance Festival strongly embedded in the Fall dance calendar, why would we need an(other) fall dance festival?

Well, why not?!?

It’s fitting that October brings a cornucopia of international connections to Chicago dance stages, coinciding with the national celebration of United Nations Month, which commemorates the signing of the UN Charter, now completing its 68th year.  

With international dance connections ranging from as far away as China and as close to home as Cuba, Chicago audiences have a wonderful opportunity to experience how the cultural traditions, stories, and theatrical conventions of far-away lands enrich and inform our sense of global community. 

“Pay No Mind,” the debut group work of solo artist Anjal Chande’s newly-formed ensemble, Soham Dance Project, has lofty aspirations: the integration of classical Indian bharatanatyam dance and music with contemporary spoken text, music, and movement. What a great idea!