Just when I think the collaborative artistic team of Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) has reached its pinnacle, they surpass expectations. Their fall season gift to their hometown audience, “untamed passion,” is even more breathtaking than I could have imagined. Superlatives cannot capture the brilliance of this world-class company’s latest iteration, performed at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie (Friday and Saturday, November 7-8, 2026).
A banquet of eclectic programming ranged from the emotional intensity of Ronen Koresh’s “EXit 4” to the retro humor of resident choreographer Al Blackstone’s “Dumb Luck!” While the world premiere of Blackstone’s duet, “Caravan,” was regrettably not performed due to an injury, it’s always refreshing to revisit prior repertory, including former company member Lindsey Leduc’s “Gravity,” excerpts from Del Dominguez & Laura Flores’ “Sabroso,” Jon Rua’s “namuH,” and former resident choreographer Autumn Eckman’s “commonthread.” It’s especially refreshing to experience familiar works through the individual artistry of newer company dancers.
Koresh’s “EXit 4” opened the program, the full company accumulating onstage with bobbing heads and sharp, percussive bodies. The melodic minor score of nasal woodwinds and syncopated drums in Part One played a major role, driving frenetic leg extensions, kicks, bouncing shoulders, and thrusting arms reaching beyond infinity. Fast-paced body contortions, falls, and acrobatic dives had a jaw-dropping, do-or-die urgency, and the dancers’ vocal “la la las” created a vision of life beyond my own movement experience. Aside from the sheer amazement of their dancing, the dramatic effect drove Koresh’s passionate message: we must unite! Five men began Part Two to upbeat rock music interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. The company’s five women joined them in assembly line repetition. Mechanical sounds underscored the oppression of daily life, and led to the ultimate release, the breath of freedom.
Charles Palmer Jr. and Sydney Priestly danced Lindsey Laduc’s duet, “Gravity” (2009). Beginning in unison, the movement evolved into a sensual partnership of balance and support, tender and nuanced by the dancers’ genuine sensitivity to each other.
Closing Act One, Del Dominguez and Laura Flores’s ballroom chic “Sabroso” (2011) brought the full company onstage in a Latin-esque nightclub, the women in heals and sparkly turquoise cocktail dresses, the men in tuxedo pants and ties. Big band music from the 1940’s inspired plenty of swiveling hips and pelvic thrusts that made for a rousing finish. And what a curtain call! The choreographed bows sent the audience into the lobby for intermission wanting more, which they got.
Jon Rua’s “namuH” (2026) opened Act Two in slow motion but quickly picked up speed in a somewhat bland series of group sequences. Layers of dark rehearsal clothes and murky lighting obscured the dancers’ bodies, and I was about to yawn when the piece took a turn, building into something transcendent. Music box chimes drew individual dancers together, coalescing into sculptural formations and then dissolving back into individual human beings. This process built to a stunning finish, where one dancer walked across the backs of the sculpture and collapsed into its center, reforming, regrouping, and building to its stunning final tableau.
Eckman’s “commonthread” (2009) provided a lovely lyrical interlude that featured an original musical composition and live accompaniment by musician Dan Myers. Eckman’s integration of movement and sound brings a whole new layer to her choreography.
Blackstone’s “Dumb Luck!” (2026), a “tour de farce” cartoon of the sailor’s life onboard an ocean liner, is a tongue-in-cheek romp that gave the GDC dancers a chance to exercise their impressive acting chops in playful prat falls, repartees, and full-company Radio City-style unison dancing. Fireworks projected onto the backdrop mirrored the joyous celebration of life, love, and collective spirit that defines the company.
One of GDC’s hallmarks under Nan Giordano’s artistic direction has been its stylistic versatility, transforming the innovative jazz dance company founded by her late father, Gus Giordano, into a world-class contemporary dance repertory company with an international range of choreographic idioms, contributing to the company’s great success and its growth. This was in abundant evidence in “untamed passion.” It was a Wow!
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