Winifred Haun and Dancers came back to the theater this weekend for the first time since the pandemic began to celebrate athletic dance on a safe, wide-open marley floor—and to celebrate the almost-forgotten experience of gathering beneath familiar walls with unfamiliar faces to enjoy live performance. “When Day Comes and Other Dances” took the audience through the company’s long legacy with a new premiere, restaged works and a cameo by Banks Performance Project (founded by Winifred Haun alumna Elysia Banks).

Project Bound Dance’s “Dance on the Deck,” a free, outdoor one-night-only mini festival on Friday featured two new works by the presenting company, as well as performances from Chicago Dance Crash, RE|dance group, Britney C. Johnson and student performers from The Hive. Curated by Project Bound co-artistic directors Ashley Deran and Emily Loar, the shared-bill delivered non-stop innovation, palpable magnetism and intergenerational joy on Hexe Coffee’s patio.

Editor’s note: The 2021 Our Readers Write column is a curated collection of articles and creative writing by various members of the Chicago dance community. We hope to provide our readers with expanded perspectives on both dance writing and the artistic lenses of the contributing authors. Joshua X. Miller’s video “Catching Creativity” and accompanying essay provide a comforting camaraderie around the highs and lows of the artistic process—along with some simple motivations for those of us in that creative slump.  —Jordan Kunkel

The 92nd St. Y in New York City may have an unassuming name, but it is one of the leading venues in the country that produces soul-stirring art—be it poetry, prose, music, or dance. Wait a minute, See Chicago Dance is a Chi-town rag, so why are we talking about NYC? That’s the beauty of the digital age, that a fan in Chicago can see their favorite artists and prodigal performers from 800 miles away.

“Oh, so y’all fine, fine!” That was my initial thought when dancers Tamisha A. Guy and Claude “CJ” Johnson graced the opening living room scene of the world premiere of “An Untitled Love,” performed by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago Thursday. Upon witnessing the duet's endearing chemistry, it’s difficult to not be flooded with nostalgia for the various loves of your lifetime: on a dance floor, on a subway, at a house party or on a college campus.

Upon reading Mr. Knowlton’s recent article published on See Chicago Dance, I was immediately inspired to respond to this writer’s impassioned exposition. While I believe this writer when he says that he loves the arts and enjoys attending performances of varied genres including dance, I find the article to be a jumbled and harmful blurb of ideas culminating in a threat to artists. For those of us who attend therapy regularly, one can’t help but identify the elephant in the room here: Using threats in an attempt to control your partner’s behavior isn’t love, it’s abuse.

I love you, choreographers. Through contemporary dance, you say what cannot be said in words alone. You have the power to bring ideas, feelings and beauty to life in ways that others cannot. Contemporary dance matters; thus, you matter. You are important and worthy of my love because of the potential creativity and cogency that you can manifest on your stages.

Participating as both a writer and virtual audience member of the 23rd Annual JOMBA! Contemporary Dance experience left me seated with a lot of questions. I believe this is a great way to conclude a festival, or any interaction with art. There is something enticing about dangling threads waiting to be pulled; loose ends can feel much more satisfying than answers.

Closing out the 23rd JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience was “SHE POEMS,” by 2021 Pina Bausch Fellow Aïda Colmenero Dïaz. Of the 20 films she produced since the project’s inception in 2013, the seven chosen for viewing here (according to her website), “question the stereotypes that the western collective imaginary imposes on Black African female bodies…”