Fall is my favorite season, hands down. Soup season officially begins. Coats provide pockets sorely missed during the summer. Downed leaves make a satisfying crunch underfoot. Not only are the leaves falling, but the hottest dancers and companies are dropping some of the finest works of the entire year, like Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Same Planet Performance Project, Zephyr Dance, Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, and Dancing on the Spot (DOTS). The Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago and Evanston Dance Ensemble are also providing outlets for students to showcase their skills in professional theater settings—check out the future “dancers you gotta see” now! Leaves are falling and dance is calling, so dust off your favorite light coat a read further for ways you can See Chicago Dance this November.
“BEAUTY AND THE BEAT: MASKED follows the story of a young woman – Beauty – who experiences rejection by her community and enters an imagined world conjured through the sacred rhythms of drum and dance. What began in struggle transforms into a celebration of the healing power of heritage. The concert draws inspiration and weaves together mask dances from the Baga people of Guinea, the Red YabonDo mask dance by the Temine and Mandinye people from Guinea and Sierra Leone, Dance of the Jesters by the Maninka people of Guinea and the Bamana people of Mali, and Zaouli created by Gouro people in Cote D’Ivoire that is similar in its lightning fast steps to Chicago Footwork.”
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
2. The Joffrey Ballet presents “Matters from the Heart,” Nov 6-8, Harris Theatre for Music and Dance
From the organization:
“This November, The Joffrey Ballet performs Matters of the Heart on the Harris Theater stage. The program includes the Chicago premiere of Broken Wings inspired by Frida Kahlo’s life and art, with a score by Peter Salem performed live by HT Resident Company Chicago Philharmonic. In this work originally commissioned by English National Ballet, choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa celebrates Kahlo’s resilience and offers a powerful portrayal of her legacy. The program also features brand-new work by award-winning choreographer Chanel DaSilva set to music by The Main Squeeze. Inspired by a true story, DaSilva’s Wabash & You is a love letter both to the city of Chicago and to the hopeless romantics that live within us all.”
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
3. Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre presents “LOVE. JOY. RESISTANCE.” Nov. 7-8, Reva and David Logan Center
From the organization:
“Chicago’s premiere Black dance company, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, is kicking off its 30th anniversary season with performances November 7-8 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago campus. ‘What you’ll see on stage is love and joy and the ability to resist and push against the norms of what you think dance should be,’ said Nicole Clarke-Springer, artistic director of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. ‘It’s not just movement, but it’s stories brought to life.’ The 30th anniversary season kicks off with a return to the company’s roots, featuring Kevin Iega Jeff’s intimately reflective Wild is the Wind, Gary Abbott’s beautiful and tragic Parallel Lives, Nicole Clarke-Springer’s glorious choreography in Sacred Spaces and the premiere of an exciting new work by resident choreographer and dancer Joshua L. Ishmon.”
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
4. Dancing On The Spot (DOTS) presents “Interwoven,” Nov. 13-22, Berger Park Coach House Theatre
From the organization:
“Women often find ways to care for others and to express their deepest hopes, thoughts, and emotions through fiber arts. This production is inspired by such women, contemporary and drawn from mythology. Women use their hands and their hearts to weave, knit, crochet, and embroider, turning disparate threads into something healing, comforting, and whole. In this show, we intertwine poetry and improvisational dance to create a unique textile of movement.”
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
5. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago presents “Fall Series,” Nov. 14-16, Steppenwolf Theatre
From the organization:
“Returning to the Steppenwolf Theatre stage after taking it by storm last year with a sold-out 2-week run, Season 48’s Fall Series showcases the full range of physicality and emotion of the Hubbard Street Dancers with an eclectic mixed-repertory program in this intimate theater.
Ohad Naharin‘s ritualistic quintet Black Milk—’by turns elegant and feral’ (Chicago Tribune)—will grace the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre for the first time. Originally choreographed by Bob Fosse for his Broadway show Dancin’, the athletic, balletic tour-de-force solo Percussion IV returns to Hubbard Street, the exclusive repertory home for Fosse/Verdon works in partnership with The Verdon Fosse® Legacy. Resident Artist Aszure Barton’s mesmerizing duet A Duo kicks off the third year of her residency at Hubbard Street alongside audience favorite IMPASSE by Johan Inger, praised by the Chicago Tribune as ‘a weird and wonderful joy bomb.'”
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
From the organization:
“Produced by Joanna Read and Same Planet Performance Project (SPPP), Dovetail Studios and Zephyr Dance , 3320 will feature original work and performances by a cross section of some of Chicago’s most prolific dancemakers including, Damon Green, Ishti Collective, the Era footwork Collective, Joseph Ravens, Same Planet Performance Project, Jackie Stewart and Zephyr Dance. ‘3320‘ is designed to showcase the choreographic depth and varied aesthetics of Chicago’s dance community highlighting experienced choreographers within the intimate setting of Dovetail Studio’s Garage Space.”
Weekend 1: November 7 & 8 featuring: SPPP, Damon Green, Jackie Stewart, and Joseph Ravens
Weekend 2: November 14 & 1 featuring: SPP, Zephyr Dance, Ishti Collective, and The Era Footwork Collective
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
Check out the famous dancers of tomorrow…today!
From the organization:
The coveted platform for student choreographers to share original, short works on the Dance Center’s stage, where the audience is as dynamic as the performances. Featured choreographers: Zarea Alston, Amanda Baity and Raynner Garcia, Emond Billings, Apryl Cage and Ashley Poole, Nailah Brown, Courtney Cooper, Caden Dardi, Justice Nasir, and Ash Williams. The Friday matinee will feature an opening performance by Realize program participants – Chicago Public High School students earning college credit at the Dance Center. Tickets are FREE with reservation.
For tickets and more info, click on the event page HERE.
2. “Flip the Script: The Young Choreographers Project,” Nov. 15-16, Studio 5 Performing Arts, Evanston
From the organization:
“It’s a switch up! The dancers of The Evanston Dance Ensemble have stepped into the role of choreographer in our biennial production of The Young Choreographers Project. The next generation of dance makers is taking the stage and we’re thinking Who’s in charge here!?
Artistic Director Enid Smith and Assistant to the Director Macala Bartucci welcome guest artists Zach Bird and Joey Castillo who are rounding out our team as we celebrate these young creative voices.”
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
3. “Choreographic Projects,” Nov. 20-21, Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago, FREE
From the organization:
“[The] distinct program culminates 14 Dance majors’ journeys through the choreographic process: from creative impulse through auditions, rehearsals, outside eyes, and design decisions to presenting their new works on the concert stage. Featured artists: Emmie Banayat, Sophie Daker, Lizeth A. Hernandez, Lola Jett-Beachley, Shannon Lane, Sophia Peck, and Dev Saxman. Tickets free with registration.
For ticket and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
“Join Solarium Dance Company for our second annual fundraising semi-formal event. Tickets include small plates, drinks, a silent auction, live dance performance excerpts of the company’s season three evening-length work, and dancing the night away in Chicago!
For tickets and more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
2. Audition: Khecari’s “Alternate Audition,” Oct 29., Nov. 5, 12, 19, Dec. 3, Indian Boundary Cultural Center
From the artists:
“We are looking to cultivate a small group of guests to join us as they are available and inspired: a chance for you to get to know us, and us you. In addition, we are currently planning on hiring one new dancer by the end of 2025 to be a part of this new work. The studio guest participation on Wednesdays in 2025 is not paid, and is not a commitment of time but rather is interest-based and open to your availability. We won’t be working toward extracting work in these sessions, just on creating a positive atmosphere for some solid dancing with us all. The dancer hired for the committed project cycle will be paid the Khecari Equal Pay Rate (currently $21/hr).”
For more info, visit the event page by clicking HERE.
Copyright 2025, See Chicago Dance, All Rights Reserved
