Molly Shanahan/MadShak marks their 25th Anniversary this year with what they call an "unplugged" version of “Of Whales, Time, and Your Last Attempt to Reach Me,” which premiered last year at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago’s Process v. Product Festival. I was in the audience then, and remember feeling electrified afterwards, having just graduated from Columbia and anxious about my own journey as an artist post-undergrad.

Gauthier Dance of Stuttgart makes its Chicago debut with “Mega Israel” (Harris Theater, Friday April 5—Saturday, April 6), a program of three seminal works by Israeli choreographers.

As first impressions go, this was a knockout. The company— young, vibrant, hip and supremely adept—could be the German dance sibling to our own beloved Hubbard Street. In fact, the two companies share a number of choreographers and one dancer, Florian Lochner, a recent (2015) Gauthier transplant and 2018 Hubbard Street Choreographic Fellow.

On March 30, Links Hall celebrated its 40th anniversary with a gala event and evening of performances called “LinkSircus” co-curated by Bob Eisen, a Links Hall co-founder, and producer Bonnie Brooks of Third Way Projects. Showcasing work from a few professional Chicago dance/performance companies, independent dance artists, and a visual artist, the evening was packed to the brim with positive creative energy, support, and all-around good cheer.

With over 40 films submitted by artists from around the globe, Mana Contemporary brings a unique body and movement-centered film festival to Chicago, highlighting artists who take risks and push the boundaries of the medium.

Chicago Repertory Ballet’s “Macbeth” opened last night at the historic Athenaeum Theatre, and it was freakin’ great. 

April has long been an abundant month for local dance in Chicago, and it’s now seven years ago that See Chicago Dance (then called Audience Architects) formally established Chicago Dance Month as a way to acknowledge the many companies and independent artists showing work in April. Dance Month is strategically nestled between March, a time when many of the large touring companies make their stops at big venues, and National Dance Week, which typically straddles April and May. 

Giordano Dance Chicago’s Spring Season, continuing through Saturday at the Harris Theater, is titled “Live in the MomentUM.” The company, in a superbly balanced, magnificently danced program, fulfills the title’s dual promise of being both “in the moment” on stage and clearly swept up in the momentum of exciting growth and development. And they bring their audience along for an exhilarating ride.

When you think of Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC), you think: passion, intensity, emotion, power, energy, and unflinching positivity. Not bad for a 56-year-old company. Led by their indefatigable artistic director Nan Giordano, the 10-dancers troupe always delivers strong performances that takes audiences on a journey, leaving joy in their hearts and smiles on their faces.

GDC's spring program will be presented in two performances Friday and Saturday at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. “This program is an extra special stringing of pieces,” Giordano said in a phone interview.

Mayumana, the Israeli percussive arts extravaganza, kicks off The Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s 5th Annual Stomping Grounds Festival with “Currents,” an electrifying take on the history of harnessed energy, Wednesday at the Harris Theater.

Inspired by the historic “battle of the currents” between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, “Currents” integrates percussive movement and music, theater, acrobatics, and visual art.