Choreographer Monique Haley had the unique opportunity to choreograph and work with the dancers at Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre over a two year period to develop "ROOT: mwanzo wa mwili ni roho." Here's what she told us about the process:
This year, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre celebrates its 20th anniversary season. Every dance company dreams of celebrating such a milestone, so what is the secret to the success? It might have something to do with the incredible blend of live dance and music that the company continues to curate, but more likely it is the passionate and consistent commitment to their artistic mission that co-founders Wilfredo Rivera and Joe Cerqua demonstrate year after year. Despite the challenges of building and maintaining an audience, procuring funding, and pushing the boundaries of both music and dance, CRDT has nourished the creative talents
If you have something important to say, all you have to do is whisper it to someone, and if its truly important, chances are that person will be the first of many to hear it. If you are talented enough to be a choreographer or dancer, then sometimes, you don't have to say anything at all, and sooner or later, you may find yourself touring around the country and beyond to share your message with countless others. That's been the result of the hard work and consistent creative efforts of The Seldoms. Over the last 16 years, The Seldoms have
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.
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.
Now in its fourth production, Evanston Dance Ensemble's Young Choreographers Project provides young dancers the unique opportunity to have an original choreographic work fully produced in a professional venue while providing mentorship from professionals in the Chicago Dance Community. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera sat down with four of the eight young choreographers in Part 1 of 2 of this 4PHOTOS series. See what these bright young minds have in store, and save the date for their upcoming debut, November 17-19 at Studio5 at Dance Center Evanston.
When Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre brings their very successful fall concert Alone / Together to Studio5 on Friday, October 13, you'll be seeing layer upon layer of creativity. That's because one of the most imaginative dance companies you can go see, Cerqua Rivera, will be performing in one of the most imaginatively designed venues in Metro Chicago.
One of the very best places to see what Joe Policastro Trio has got going will be at Studio5, where they take the stage, and a uniquely cool stage it is, on Friday, October 6 (from 8 to 10pm). The group has just released their third album, Screen Sounds, and the trio will be taking advantage of the Evanston venue's excellent production facilities, presenting the music in a multimedia format with experimental film and original lighting design.
If Studio5 is not a name that you recognize, that's alright, because you'll be hearing about it more and more. It's an unusual new venue in a lot of ways -- an impeccably designed performance space that opened just last year. This Saturday, The Live at Studio5 Jazz series presents Brazilian Guitarist Paulinho Garcia and Mike Allemana, with special guest Grazyna Auguscik sharing vocals with Garcia.