The emotional intensity of bodies in turmoil wove a common thread across Visceral Dance Chicago’s one-night stand at the Harris Theater Saturday night. Unlike last year’s varied repertoire, the five works in “Spring Five,” three of them by company founding director Nick Pupillo, revolved around the volatility of human relationship.
Now in its 6th season, Chicago Repertory Ballet (CRB) continues to build in size and stature with a two-night engagement called “Modern Motions” at the Athenaeum Theatre. Ambitious choreography, four world premieres, and beefy production value have me sitting up a bit for this group, a once fledgling company that appears to be emerging from the pack.
Columbia College’s Process v. Product Festival kicked off Thursday, a collection of workshops, lectures and performances to cap the 2017-18 presenting series at the college’s Dance Center. Process v. Product is aimed at illuminating the choreographic process and its relationship to concert dance, a commodity consumed by the public.
Can they get any better? Giordano Dance Chicago keeps strengthening the ranks in an organization structured to keep the home fires burning. Sizzling, in fact.
Salt Creek Ballet presents Carnival of the Animals with divertissements from Paquita. Salt Creek Ballet brings to life Camille Saint-Saëns’ grand zoological fantasy, Carnival of the Animals, in a witty and sophisticated, musical salute to the animal kingdom. Experience this entertaining series of vignettes danced by feathers, fur and fins of all shapes and sizes.
Chicago Dance Month officially kicks off March 27th for a month-long bonanza of great dance events, ticket deals, workshops, and free concerts. Chicago’s annual April celebration of dance is the perfect time to explore the rich variety of styles and creative partnerships at work in the Chicago dance community, making our city one of the nation’s most exciting dance centers.
Entering Dovetail Studio’s main space on Saturday, there were black curtains hung on four sides. They hide the walls and ballet barres, creating a black box out of soft goods and drawing the eye to a glowing white marley floor, illuminated in cool blue light.
Love’s extremes drive Mark Morris’s sumptuous visualization of the ancient Persian story, “Layla and Majnun,” a tale of star-crossed lovers in love with the agony and ecstasy of love (Harris Theater, March 16-17).
Sunday evening started out rough.
I had forgotten that seeing a show at City Winery, a West Loop restaurant/winery/music venue, means arriving at least half an hour early to get settled and order from the excellent menu before the action starts. Turns out, the process of being seated and served right at show time is chaotic at best. And as an expanded cast of dancers and musicians from Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) took to the stage in the midst of my trying to order the fired risotto balls, unable to see the tappers’ feet or hear what the server was saying, I was just plain crabby.