Fantastical 'Electrogynous' nods at sci-fi—at the core, it's down to earth

The Chicago debut of D. Sabela Grimes has finally come. The LA-based choreographer teaches at the University of Southern California, and is perhaps best known for his time in Puremovement as part of the original cast of Rennie Harris’ “Rome & Jewels.” Harris is considered a hip-hop pioneer, developing street dance as a concert dance form to create space for blackness and black stories in historically white spaces.

Fast fashion, green screens and a doll named Kissy—‘On Notice’ at SITE/less gives agency to a choreographer’s collaborators

“Sometimes there’s this idea that interdisciplinarity is this commune of peace and love, a kind of hippie ideal that’s being promulgated,” said David Sundry, a design/build architect with three decades of experience in residential, commercial and mixed-use spaces. Dance audiences might better recognize him as a frequent collaborator with Zephyr. 

Cerqua Rivera + Ensemble Español at the Auditorium: a compelling night of Spanish and Latin American culture through dance

Two companies: one rooted in Spanish tradition and movement, the other in Latin melody and American contemporary work. Two vibrant stories: of history, heritage and how these concepts resonate today. One compelling night of dance.

In a dynamic split-bill performance that received two standing ovations Friday, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre (CRDT) and Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater captivated a robust Auditorium Theatre audience with an investigation and celebration of immigration and the cultures who have established homes in the United States. 

'Level' flips the MCA upside down and inside out

It started slow, with a small group of people sitting clumped on the steps outside the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA). So subtle that it was barely recognizable as the performance. Then, as seemingly normal museum visitors trickled into the group, the clump formalized, dancers slouching on top of each other and the stairs, slightly shifting and changing position.

Magical 'Then a Cunning Voice' a transformative experience which will have to be shared to make a lasting impact

“The land does not belong to me, but I belong to the land.”

The words of 14-year-old Georgia Lucas (originally derived at 11 years old), as stated in her extended solo at “Then a Cunning Voice and A Night We Spent Gazing at Stars,” prodded the heart of why we were all gathered in the Calumet Park Fieldhouse at 11:30 p.m.—to remember where we came from and who or what we hold with us as we continue forward. 

October brings new initiatives and partnerships at SCD, and great dance ahead

As the fall dance season kicks into high gear, we at See Chicago Dance are feeling a sense of renewal and planning for the year ahead. I’m enormously proud of our writing team, which has worked tirelessly, and for not enough pay, to visit as many performances as possible, in all corners of the city. We are committed to continuing this forward momentum as we strive for ways to be on the forefront of the evolving dance journalism field.

Cattywompus Dance creates a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' dance—it's not as gripping as the '80s novels, but there's plenty to admire

I grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I wasn’t a trendy kid, but the popular “Choose Your Own Adventure” series was one fad I glommed onto like the gum underneath my grade school desk. The books—typically page-turning action/thriller/mystery novels—gave readers choices, much like how today’s video games have a number of different outcomes and storylines for players to explore. These were books you could and would read again and again, especially if you weren’t satisfied with how it turned out the first time. 

Immigration and cultural identity ignite Cerqua Rivera’s fall tour

Nothing is more charged in the American consciousness today than immigration policy and racial and cultural divides. Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre (CRDT) winds up its 20th anniversary season with a powerhouse repertory of emotionally-driven works that address these issues in “America/Americans,” running from Sept. 27-Oct. 26 in two alternating concert programs.

Work by, for and about women opens CDE's 19th season

Visual art by women and about women flanked the walls of the simple, wide-open chapel in the Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Most pieces depicted women in anguish, and one work in particular caught my eye. A set of two paintings on canvas featured a human figure shaped out of hardened, dehydrated vines which connected the figure to two landscapes of forest wasteland and torched desert. In both paintings, the figure—who I perceived as a shriveling Mother Earth—was mid-step, marching forward.