Creating a masterpiece can take a lifetime. There is a certain process in crafting each detail that cannot be rushed, but in a world of limited time and tight funding, modern day artists have been forced to find creative ways to make the best of their resources. This is especially true in the world of dance, where choreographers are tasked not only with making movement to communicate their stories and ideas, but must also make considerations for the perfect musical score, costuming, and lighting and stage design. So how do dance makers begin to approach the task of bringing all
These days, it seems that you have all the entertainment you need at your fingertips. Wherever you go, you are sure to see people enraptured by their mobile devices, scrolling through videos on social media or streaming their favorite TV shows. There is no shortage of convenient entertainment, which certainly creates problems for those involved in the performing arts. So, how do you begin to compete with convenience and draw an audience into the theater? If you are Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, you have found a solution – create a unique concert dance experience coupled with a live jazz band.
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre has been growing like a wildflower in the past few years. They have established a unique and resonant identity that has captivated Chicago dance audiences. With such uninhibited growth, the advent of new roles within the company, such as a Rehearsal Director, became paramount. That is where our friend Brennen Renteria comes in, a veteran company member with CRDT and now Rehearsal Director too. Both on stage and off he is leading the company into their Fall concert series, “My Past / Our Present”, which will be performed in three Chicago locations this October (Oct 5-6 at 8pm at Studio5, Oct 19-20 at 7pm at Links Hall, and Oct 27 at 7:30pm at The Logan Center. The series features some very exciting collaborations, and a new addition to the American Catracho suite by artistic directors Wilfredo Rivera and Joe Cerqua. The catracho spirit is very much alive in CRDT’s Rehearsal Director Brennen Renteria. He shared with DancerMusic some beautiful insights into his role with the company and why he has so much love and pride for the work he does with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. Here's what he told us:
Dancers have the unique ability to take a piece of music and really show it to you. You may be thinking, how is that possible? Sound is a wave invisible to the naked eye, and even if you were to see that piece of music performed live, you would see the action that creates the sound, but not the sound itself. Here's where the dancer comes in. If a dancer were to create movement to your favorite song, chances are that dancer would pick up on the nuances in rhythm, accents in instrumentation, the subtle meaning behind the lyrics, and
When the average person thinks of Chicago, a few things hit the top of the list: the sports teams, the vibrant downtown scene and its iconic architecture... the wind (and for locals: confusing parking signs and that particular smell of the ‘L’). What does not immediately come to mind is the incredible array of outdoor spaces and field houses that make up the Chicago Park District. Chicagoans all over the city burst out of their winter hidey-holes to enjoy the fresh summer air and sunshine, and people from the world over come to the more well-known parks for events like
Like many summer programs, Deeply Rooted's four-week summer intensive offers technique classes and gives participants the opportunity to learn, rehearse, and perform select pieces of DRDT repertory. But here's what makes this program special: in addition to technique and repertory, select summer scholarship awardees are invited for an additional two-week process prior to the intensive to participate in the creative process of up-and-coming choreographers. These choreographic works are then presented in the intensive's culminating performance in a feature called the Emerging Choreographers Showcase. In this way, DRDT's summer intensive also serves as a creative incubator for the selected choreographers. In conjunction with sharing a program with some of DRDT's most accomplished choreographers and most beloved works, the emerging choreographers are also given access to the many tools they need to reach their choreographic vision including rehearsal space, a cast of talented dancers, and administrative support. Recently, DancerMusic's Kristi Licera caught up with Emerging Choreographers’ Showcase Producing Director Joshua Ishmon to learn more about the showcase and the choreographers involved. Here's what Joshua told us:
Ask a dancer to jump, and they'll ask, "How high?" Chances are you will get a graceful, elegant leap. Ask a dancer to turn, and they'll ask, "How many times?" Ah, look at those lovely, effortless pirouettes. Now, ask that dancer to climb up a twenty-foot piece of fabric with the same grace and poise, and the most likely outcome is that dancer will say nothing, and all you will be staring at is one very, very skeptical and confused face. Unless, that is, that dancer happens to be one of the artists at Aerial Dance Chicago. These gravity defying
There's something magical that happens to Chicago in the summertime. After a long, cold, winter, it comes as no surprise that everyone wants to be outdoors, including the city's dance artists. These professional dancers spend a majority of their careers training and rehearsing in the studio and performing in concert and theater venues, with few opportunities outside of site-specific work to experience dancing outdoors. But thankfully, for the past ten summers, Dance in the Parks has given dancers and audiences alike the opportunity to consume concert dance in some of the cities most communal centers - Chicago's neighborhood parks. Dance
In the beginning of any career, we often make sacrifices. Sometimes this means late, unpaid nights in the office or putting in extra work at home, but what happens when these sacrifices become the norm? For many dancers in any stage of their career, the extra hours in the studio and unpaid rehearsals and performances come as no surprise. The justifications for putting up with these circumstances range from "I need to prove myself" to "This is the best opportunity I have." While those things may be true in the beginning, many dancers will continue to tell themselves these lines
As a current or potential audience member, you may catch a review of the show in the local paper. But one there is one thing about a review that you will never be able to skirt around; those words in that newspaper did not come from the mouth and heart of the artist or creator. That's where DancerMusic comes in. We pride ourselves in giving artists like Reesie Davis, Founder and CEO of Praize Productions, Inc. NFP, the opportunity to share reflections and discoveries of the work that she, her company and school of dancers work so hard to achieve and realize. We recently caught up with Reesie and asked her to share her reflections on PPI's recent production of REVIVAL: The Answer was Healing! Here's what Reesie shared with us in her 4PHOTOS: