Deeply Rooted Dance Theater's Deeply Free performances will include works from two of the artists most closely associated with Deeply Rooted's accomplishments, Dance Education Director Nicole Clarke-Springer's "Femme" and Associate Artistic Director Gary Abbott's "Desire". Here are four closer looks at moments from each of these pieces, with thoughts from the choreographers ---
Ballet Hispánico will be at The Apollo Theater on December 1st and 2nd, and DancerMusic reached out to Ballet Hispánico's Diana Winfree to find out some more about the Apollo Performances, about Ballet Hispánico, and about some of the works in the program. Here's what she told us ---
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is celebrating their 20th Anniversary with a series of concerts entitled Deeply Free (December 8th, 9th and 10th at Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts). The Company was founded in 1995 and first performed in 1996, building year after year into what they are now: a widely traveled and even more widely admired Dance Company. DancerMusic begins its coverage of "Deeply Free" by asking Deeply Rooted's Artistic Director and co-founder Kevin Iega Jeff to tell us a little more about Deeply Rooted and about their upcoming performances ...
Charlie Cutler is emblematic of many of the secret ingredients in the Crash recipe. Like the Company he cofounded, he knows the art from the inside, but can always see it clearly from the outside. That way, the road stays open in both directions. A fifteen year progression of careful, thoughtful artists have found a place to imagine in detail, and create in multi-dimensions. For those same fifteen years, audiences have found a place to see what those artists created in a context that never forgets what it looks like and feels like from the audience. Here are 4PHOTOS from the past and future story of Chicago Dance Crash ---
You might recognize the face above from your television. That's right -- Chantelle Mrowka most recently graced screens across America as part of the dance company, Diavolo - finalists on this past season America's Got Talent. In the midst of Chantelle's jam packed touring and performance schedule, DancerMusic's Kristi Licera got a chance to ask her about moving across the country, Diavolo, her advice on bouncing back from injuries, and more. Check out what Chantelle had to say, and keep your eye out for her on stages across the US!
Mark Hackman doesn't really need an introduction, all you would have to say is "He's the Producing Director of Chicago Dance Crash, one of Crash's founders", and that should do it. There's actually a lot more to that story, but it will have to wait, because in this one we're handing the mic to Mark, and with no further introduction, here are 4PHOTOS (really 5) with introduction and comments by ---- ready? ---- Mark Hackman.
We recently published 4PHOTOS Part 1 for EDE's Viewpoint, featuring four of the eight young choreographers soon to be showing the fruits of their choreographic labor this coming weekend at Studio5 at Dance Center Evanston. Now in its fourth season of production, The Young Choreographers Project gives the teens in Evanston Dance Ensemble to create and produce an original choreographic work. Each of the eight young choreographers is paired with a local professional mentor. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera now brings you Part 2, featuring the remaining four young choreographers.
If you had a chance to read our PRE-View for Ballet 5:8's Compass, then you know that Artistic Director Julianna Slager and her company of expressive dancers have committed their season thus far to spreading compassion in every community they touch. This past Friday, Ballet 5:8 took the stage at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago and delivered an evening of inspired choreography and thought-provoking performance. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera was in the audience for this one-night only performance, and invites you to join her as she RE-Views Ballet 5:8.
The McCallum Theatre's influential annual dance program, The Choreography Festival, will return for its twentieth edition this weekend. One of the performances on Saturday's program is an intensely thoughtful duet choreographed by French choreographer Manuel Vignoulle. The work is entitled Black & White, and Vignoulle performs in the work alongside Rena Butler. Here, Vignoulle shares with DancerMusic a whole range of thought provoking and often inspiring perspectives on the work. **** PHOTO DISCLAIMER: Please note that this article has images that contain nudity. Dancers featured in these photographs appear topless, as it is integral to the presentation of the work's choreographic vision. ***
Chicago Dance Crash has only been tearing up stages, expectations, and entrenched ideas of what a dance company can be for fifteen years? Seems like longer, or at least it seems like more. More than what you could have expected anybody else to do in fifteen short years, but then again, this is Chicago Dance Crash.