On Tuesday, members of the boards of the Ragdale Foundation and Morrison-Shearer Foundations gathered to celebrate the construction of the Studio House for Dance and Music at Ragdale, a North Shore artist residency program founded in 1976. Constructed alongside Ragdale's properties on the 5-acre Lake Forest estate, the Studio House includes a composer's suite and dance studio. The latter is named after Chicago modern dance pioneer Sybil Shearer. Lake Forest mayor Honorable George A Pandeleon attended to commemorate the occasion.

Making a return to live performance in April, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre announced 2021 programming Monday, including new works by Monique Haley and artistic director Wilfredo Rivera.

Chicago Dancemakers Forum announced new artistic residencies Monday, adding to the organization's robust lineup of grant programs supporting artists throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Four artists are paired with venues across the city: BraveSoul Movement at the Dance Center of Columbia College (South Loop), Ivelisse Diaz at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (Hermosa), La Vuelta Ensemble at UrbanTheater Company (Humboldt Park) and Rigo Saura at Ruth Page Center for the Arts (Near North). A fifth and final location and artist grouping is yet to be identified.

Masked roisterers peppered the Mag Mile and riverfront as I made my way to the Fine Arts Building Saturday. A surprise river dyeing was enough to bring green-clad Chicagoans out for some merriment; in any other year, the city would seem eerily empty for a St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Similarly, the Studebaker Theater was sparsely populated for Ballet 5:8’s two performances Saturday. Capacity restrictions meant roughly 100 people (of a possible 1500 over two shows) saw “Reckless,” the suburban company’s brand-new ballet.

On March 7, Hedwig Dances premiered their first performance of 2021, with an international collaboration between choreographer Ana Beatriz Perez, based in Spain and a sound score by Spanish music artists Maria Move and Raúl Grillo. “Home: A Place Within” explored common themes of safety, isolation and instability within the dancers’ homes and within themselves. For 40 minutes, the dancers invited us into very tactile moments in their homes—on the walls, windows, furniture—as they explored Perez’ fluid and nuanced choreography blended with their own improvisations.

Times have changed and the best thing we can do as humans is to adapt to those changes, imagine new realities, build from where we are and reflect the times. Winifred Haun & Dancers premiered “Press on, Regardless” via Facebook Live on March 5 as a part of their mostly digital 2021 season. A mighty crew of roughly 50 viewers chimed in, including myself from my phone, sitting on the curb in Phoenix, Arizona.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary season, The Dance COLEctive (TDC) announced Monday a series of virtual gatherings. Established in 1996 as a vehicle for artistic director Margi Cole's choreography, The Dance COLEctive evolved to provide critical opportunities and mentorship for emerging choreographers from within the company.