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. 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:
JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance is not one, but two dance concerts. Although both are presentations of some of the most gifted percussive dance artists you can see anywhere, and both will be an intoxicating mixture of sophisticated choreography and inspired improvisation, they're actually two completely different programs. We talked to Dani Borak, Chicago Human Rhythm Project's Artist in Residence, to find out more about JUBA!, and we couldn't have found a better person to ask. Here's what he told us:
How in the world would you do a PRE-View of Rhythm World, Chicago Human Rhythm Project's amazing annual festival of tap and percussive dance? If you've been to see us at DancerMusic before, you know that our PRE-Views are here to tell the world about events that are interesting, exciting, entertaining and cool, so that everybody can go see them and not miss them. Rhythm World is all of that for sure, so what's the problem? The problem is that Chicago Human Rhythm Project's Rhythm World is like the big, long, eighty-car freight train of cool, entertaining, interesting and exciting. So what did we do? We redesigned our PRE-View format to include a new SPEED ROUND of questions for CHRP's Founder and Director Lane Alexander. Here's what he 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 can't be too many things in Dance more complicated, more challenging, or more promising than the collaboration between choreographer and composer. But there probably aren't too many people in Dance or Music better able to tell us about the mysteries of this process than Joe Cerqua. Cerqua is the Co-Founder of Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, and at Cerqua Rivera, dance and music are richly and relentlessly interwoven in everything the Company even thinks about. We thought this would be perfect time to ask Joe to tell us about working with Sherry Zunker on "Between Us", which Cerqua Rivera will perform at Dance for Life 2018. Oh yeah, we also asked him to give us a quick look at the new piece he's working on with Monique Haley. Here's what he told us:
On Friday, June 29th, and again on Sunday, July 1, Thodos Dance Chicago and DanceWorks Chicago will present the very latest incarnation of a legendary dance event, NEW Dances. Audiences at Chicago's Ruth Page Center for the Arts will see a brand new dance company, specially formed for this performance, in works by six choreographers, specially made for NEW Dances. This year marks a new beginning, adding a present and a future to the story of New Dances. Two of the most influential, and most creatively community-aware professionals in Chicago dance -- Melissa Thodos and Julie Nakagawa -- decided last year to transition the New Dances event to a joint effort by DanceWorks Chicago and Thodos Dance Chicago. The performances feature new works by choreographers Shannon Alvis, Braeden Barnes, Katlin Michael Bourgeois, J’Sun Howard, Chris Johnson, and Anna Long. We asked both Melissa and Julie to let us in on a little more of this story, and here's what they told us:
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:
Let's paint a picture of Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre's Inside/Out: Ameican Catracho. In the foreground of the picture is Cerqua Rivera's performance on Wednesday, June 20th at 7pm, at Evanston's beautiful new dance and music venue Studio5. There Artistic Director Wilfredo Rivera, CRDT Co-founder Joe Cerqua, and other participants in the creative process will offer a look into the making of American Catracho, the large-scale work that Rivera launched in 2016, and which will be completed this year. American Catracho explores the experience of immigrants and refugees who, like Rivera himself, venture to leave what they know to find a new life in a new land. It's been a major, three year project for the Company, and although there's a lot in the foreground, there's even more in the background. Taken all together, it turns the whole picture into a kind of magic painting, because each time you look closely at what is in the background, what you see in the foreground will change. Knowing that, we asked Noelle Kayser to give us even more background on the process of making American Catracho, and here's what she told us.
As a child, you may have often dreamed of yourself as a prince or princess in your favorite story. But as we age and discover the truth about the world around us, we begin to see the cracks in our beloved tales. We learn that those portrayed as evil may not have been so bad after all, and what we once thought to be the truth is merely a representation of what someone wants the truth to be. Now that we're adults, how do we change these stories to reflect our reality, while still maintaining the magic they gave us as children? August Tye, Founding Artistic Director of Hyde Park School of Dance, has the answer. August, her artistic team, and a cast of over a hundred dancers are getting ready to share this revelation in their production of Amira: A Chicago Cinderella Story at the Reva and David Logan Center in Hyde Park. DancerMusic Dance Editor Kristi Licera caught up with August to learn more about this massive undertaking. Here's what August told us:
Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater can fill a stage with excitement like few other dance companies can. In their stated purpose to 'preserve, promote, and present' the many Dance and Music traditions of Spain -- Flamenco, Folkloric, Classical, and Contemporary-- they've developed a unique history, a unique repertory, and a unique choreographic voice. They'll be presenting their Flamenco Passion: A Tribute to Jose Greco’s 100th Anniversary at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (on Friday and Saturday, June 15-16 at 7:30pm, and again on Sunday, June 17 at 3pm), and the program is an especially important and exciting one. DancerMusic asked Ensemble Español Artistic Director Irma Suárez Ruiz and Executive Director Jorge Pérez to share with us a little more about what we'll see at The North Shore Center, and here's what they told us: