There are experiences that are so difficult and so shocking that they make every other problem go pale, and yet almost everybody encounters them at some point, if not personally, through the experience of someone close to them.
Lou Conte not only has a name that is important to the Chicago dance community, but as the founder of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago he is someone who has changed the history of contemporary dance. He created what is today an internationally acclaimed company that dancers from all over the world dream of being a part of. I myself was one of those young dancers, and Lou helped make my dream come true by bringing me into the company just before he stepped down as director in 2000. Lou will forever hold a special place in my heart, and not only by having initiated my entire dance career. With his values and the standards to which he held his work and company, he helped shape who I am today as a dancer, artist, and now choreographer. Lou is being honored at Chicago's Dance for Life this year, and when I was given the opportunity to talk with him and ask him a few questions, I couldn't help but be thrilled at the thought. Here's what he shared with me:
Darryl Joseph is an independent producer with an intricately careful sense of how to put beats together. Originally from New York and now living in Chicago, his solo tracks are often sparse and electronic, and always elegantly designed. He's found himself more and more in demand as more and more people have heard his work, not only as a sought-after collaborator for vocalists, but also for choreographers. His gift for enthusiastic collaboration as much as for composition has led to recent projects with Stephanie Martinez, Christopher Huggins, Nick Pupillo, and now with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Choreographic Fellow Rena Butler. We asked Darryl about a lot of different things --- composing for dance, working with Rena Butler, what's up next for him, and more -- and here's what he told us.
Now on the cusp of their twentieth anniversary season, CRDT's success is due largely in part to the consistently strong choices of Artistic Director and Co-founder Wilfredo Rivera. As from the beginning, Wilfredo's passion, creativity, and commitment to artistic collaboration continue to lead the company to new performance venues, new audiences, and new creative projects that push the boundaries of both the individual artist and the ensemble as a whole. Behind the scenes, there is another person integral to the success and growth of Cerqua Rivera - Executive Director Catherine Painter. For the last five years, Catherine has worked alongside the artistic team at CRDT to ensure that their unique mixture of dance and live music can reach as many communities as possible. The work and thought she has put behind each and every choice for Cerqua Rivera culminated last year in the company's first ever three-venue tour of Chicago. This year's Fall Concert Series placed CRDT back to the same three venues: the series opened in Evanston, traveled down to Lakeview, and will soon close in Hyde Park. The big difference is the program has already made a much bigger splash than in the previous season, and there's still one performance to go. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera caught up with Catherine to learn more about Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre and the choices they continue to make that create the enriching experience the Fall Concert Series offers their audiences. Here's what Catherine told us:
We reached out to composer David Jennings to find out more about the score he composed for Lamaiya Lancaster and L-Theory Collective's "Dancing As Life", and much more. Here's what he told us:
Many of us have found ourselves with extra time on our hands, and our latest interview series at DancerMusic provides insight to how artists, like Hanna Brictson, are using that time to create and inspire. Here's what Hanna told us about her new fitness program, Ballex:
LOUD BODIES' "Legalize Menstruation," raises awareness of period poverty and encourages open conversation on the often taboo subject of menstruation. Here's what LOUD BODIES co-founders Yariana Baralt Torres and Maria Blanco told us about their upcoming performance, February 29, 2020 at Chicago's Preston Bradley Center:
Ballet 5:8 presents "Butterfly" at Chicago's Studebaker Theater Saturday, March 7, 2020. DancerMusic asked Artistic Director Julianna Slager to give us insight into this ballet, inspired by the stories of the Jewish population that lived in the Terezin ghetto during World War II. Here's what she told us:
As you get closer to it, the Milwaukee Ballet's Ballet Russe Reimagined begins to seem more like an ultra HD close-up of a world that could just as easily be right now. We asked Nicole Teague-Howell about what she found as she set out to transform the inspiration of a century past into a new kind of imagining. Here's what she told us:
"Floor Show" is an immersive production that draws inspiration from David Bowie’s music, career, cultural impact, and more. This one-of-a-kind production—part theater, part live music concert, part dance performance—was created by director Jesse Morgan Young in collaboration with lead performer Alex Grelle and music director Liam Kazar. Here's what choreographer Zachary Whittenburg told us about the production: