In a way, everything Crash has ever done has been one continuous, free flowing, on the spot free-style.
Among the many arts of the Art of Dance, freestyling is its own special world, but it includes just about every part of what makes dance an art. Great freestyle starts with having such a range of motion and technique and inspiration that you can present any of it at any moment. Although the creative decisions are made faster than even the fastest of movement, those are the same decisions and the same creativity that are always the essence of making a dance. So it’s quite remarkable that at Dance For Life 2018, Chicago Dance Crash is there to freestyle — which is almost unheard of for such a monumental production.
In a way, everything Crash has ever done has been one continuous, free flowing, on the spot free-style. That includes their extensive touring, the school shows that have inspired so many Chicago public schools students, their huge production events and even their carefully choreographed rep shows. But when Chicago Dance Crash shows up for Dance for Life this year, the audience at the Auditorium Theatre will get a stage full of poppin’, droppin’, high flying free style. That ought to light the old place up.
Crash Artistic Director Jessica Deahr took some time to give us a little closer look at four moments from Chicago Dance Crash’s very rich freestyle history in 4PHOTOS from Crash. Here we go:
We actually had a really fun time working through the stipulations of a small, crowded, fast-moving tube!
“Crash has taken our freestyle game to some pretty unique and unusual spaces and events! This was one of my favorites. When Japanese clothing company Uniqlo made its U.S. debut, the company did a big launch in Chicago. They did a pop-up takeover on random CTA trains with a DJ, models, giveaways and decorations on the train. They brought Crash onboard to freestyle on the trains in Uniqlo gear as the trains were moving and full of people. We actually had a really fun time working through the stipulations of a small, crowded, fast-moving tube!” — Jessica Deahr
It’s been cool to see how this dance battle has evolved from a free-for-all to a production
“Crash has a long-running Chicago-based battle called “KTF” where the audience cheers the dancers through various rounds of live freestyle in order to crown one “Keeper of the Floor” winner. We’ve gotten to a point where we are actually getting booked to take Crew battle versions of this show on the road for different corporate events. This picture is from a recent version we made called “Battle Hunger” where we catered the rounds around a big food pantry charity event. It’s been cool to see how this dance battle has evolved from a free-for-all to a production and also to play with how it keeps its roots but finds new venues.” — Jessica Deahr
The video turned out really cool although we had scrapes to show for it!
“Here we go! This was for a French Jack Daniels-sponsored production called Jack on Tour. From my memory, they didn’t speak much English and played live, abstract, avant garde electronic music. It was really interesting to just dive in on the concrete and jam our way into figuring each other out. The video turned out really cool although we had scrapes to show for it!” — Jessica Deahr
It created a really special love and energy, and our plan is to bring a new version of that to Dance for Life this August
“Saved this one for last because it is most similar to what we are presenting at Dance for Life. This is the end of a structured freestyle we did last fall to celebrate our 15th anniversary. It was a really high-energy night because we brought in a handful of guests to join the freestyle who were former Crash dancers over the years. It was so awesome for me personally to see my current dancers vibing with people I danced with during my first days with the company as far back as 2007. It created a really special love and energy, and our plan is to bring a new version of that to Dance for Life this August. Stay tuned!” — Jessica Deahr
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Chicago Dance Crash will appear at Dance for Life 2018 on Saturday, August 18 at 7:30pm at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre (50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL). Tickets are available online from the Auditorium Theatre or by phone from the Auditorium Box Office at 312.341.2300
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