In the lobby of the Hamilton Park Cultural Center, a river of bodies flows down a pair of symmetrical stone staircases, pooling into a high-ceilinged foyer, spilling into the astonished audience. They play with the onlookers, one dancer languidly unfurling their arms mere inches from my face. These sprites are then whisked away towards a large double door and into a dark room, an auditorium with a blonde wood floor and a stage, a white proscenium framing a turquoise and lavender background. Caught in the rush of the current we follow them.

Wanna see something mythical, healing and interactive?
Nejla Yatkin’s “Firebird,” May31 – June 18. FREE!

While spending time combing through past issues of “Dance Magazine” at the Harold Washington Library, I realized for the first time how prolific dancer/choreographer Ruth Page was during her career. She is mentioned in nearly every issue, often covered by longtime Chicago dance writer Ann Barzel. Page is always pushing boundaries, always moving forward, always working on a new ballet, often to rave reviews. Seeing the immensity of Page’s work spread out in front of me instilled a sense of awe and, as a Chicagoan, a sense of pride.

On May 5 at The Myron R. Szold Music & Dance Hall, Identity Performing Arts presented “Fearless,” a series of repertory works and one premiere by choreographer and company artistic director Ginny Ching-Yin Lo. The works were set on a small company of dancers and performed to music both recorded and live, with sweeping soundscapes created by experimental electronic duo “Chromabeats,”—whose members are named Mancho (Marshal Greenhouse) and functionless (Wiebe Dirk)—with the addition of Alex Brinkman on cello and Eli Lu on keyboard.