It’s never a surprise when Chicago Human Rhythm Project Co-founder and Artistic Director Lane Alexander is involved in a surprising and promising new idea. At Dance For Life this Saturday, August 19, one of the more intriguing performances will be of In the Meantime, a collaboration between CHRP, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, and Trinity Irish Dance Company. The work, choreographed by Alexander, Maggie Eileen Doyle and Claudia Pizarro simultaneously celebrates and explores the “sophisticated, elastic and ancient languages” of rhythm and percussive dance. The collaborators describe the work as “a celebration of our distinct cultures and a recognition of our common impulses and the universal desire to make rhythm”. Here, Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Lane Alexander gives us an inside look at two of the photos from the work:
Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater and Trinity Irish Dance Company
In the Meantime
Choreography: Lane Alexander, Maggie Eileen Doyle and Claudia Pizarro
Photos by Cheryl Mann, featuring Marty Bronson, Maggie Doyle, Claudia Pizarro, Nestor Corona, Peter Dziak, Zada Cheeks, and Nestor Corona and Claudia Pizarro
over thousands of years, percussive dance has evolved into one of the most sophisticated and complex dance forms
In the meantime . . . was selected for Dance for Life, in part, to represent the vast diversity of the dance community—and specifically the rhythm-based dance community—foot drummers—the “first dancers.” Foot drumming is one of the most ancient forms of human communication, but because it is a primary form, it is sometimes dismissed as “primitive” or as quaint folk dance. Far from it, over thousands of years, percussive dance has evolved into one of the most sophisticated and complex dance forms. Interestingly enough, because it continues to represent primary human impulses, it connects instantly with audiences, and the joyful, passionate and even spiritual nature of foot drumming elicits immediate reactions from people craving authenticity. The three companies collaborating in this piece, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Trinity Irish Dance and the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, not only represent the best of Spanish flamenco, Irish and American tap in Chicago, but in the U.S. and in the world. We are so proud to be a part of Dance for Life and everything it represents . . . supporting each other . . . bringing our communities together for a common cause!
— Lane Alexander
On Saturday, August 19 at 7:30 eight of Chicago’s premiere Dance Companies will take the Auditorium Theatre stage for the 26th annual Dance For Life. Joining Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater and Trinity Irish Dance Company at Dance For Life 2017 will be Giordano Dance, Hubbard Street Dance, The Joffrey Ballet, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Jessica Miller Tomlinson Choreograph. For ticket information, just visit The Auditorium Theatre.
Featured Photo: Photo by Todd Rosenberg
