Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dancer Rena Butler's career has a full circle moment at this year's Dance for Life as the company performs an excerpt of Ohad Naharin's "DECADANCE." Here's what she told us about taking the Dance for Life stage with her fellow HSDC artists:
Joffrey Ballet dancers Jeraldine Mendoza and Dylan Gutierrez will perform "Lorelei" at Dance for Life 2019. This pas de deux was originally created for a dance film and will be adapted for the stage. Here's what they told us as they prepare for their performance:
Each year, a dozen or more companies of young dancers gather to present the annual benefit Dance for Life's Next Generation, and in twenty five years it has come to be known not only as a showcase for imaginative and talented young artists, but even more as an iconic collaboration of good will. We asked Diane Rawlinson to tell us more about this widely anticipated event, which takes place this year on March 3rd at 5pm at Wheeling High School's Sang Theatre. Here's what she told us:
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:
They say the best gifts are the ones you make yourself. The time, energy and thoughtfulness put into a handmade item is forever ingrained within it, making it truly unique. Here at DancerMusic, some of the best gift makers we know are the ones that create dance. These choreographers often spend countless hours in the studio creating movement, plus an ample amount of time researching and reflecting to refine what they make. No two creations are ever quite the same, and become more unique when you consider that no two performances of the same piece of choreography are identical. As
Dancers have the unique ability to take a piece of music and really show it to you. You may be thinking, how is that possible? Sound is a wave invisible to the naked eye, and even if you were to see that piece of music performed live, you would see the action that creates the sound, but not the sound itself. Here's where the dancer comes in. If a dancer were to create movement to your favorite song, chances are that dancer would pick up on the nuances in rhythm, accents in instrumentation, the subtle meaning behind the lyrics, and
Giordano Dance Chicago will be performing Ray Mercer's Tossed Around when they take the stage on August 18th for Dance For Life 2018 at The Auditorium Theatre. So much goes into a work like Tossed Around that if you're seeing a work like that for the very first time, it can be a lot to take in all at once. That's why it's so great when somebody can give an audience a better idea of what they're about to see. Michael McStraw is the Executive Director of Giordano Dance Chicago, and he knows Tossed Around better than most, and not just its multiple layers of design. McStraw knows what went into it, and a lot of what has come out of it for audience and artists alike. He's one of those artists who has both danced and directed dance companies, someone who can mix passion and professionalism and never drop a beat. So naturally, we asked Michael McStraw to give us a little deeper look into Tossed Around. Here's what he told us:
As artists, the best way for dancers to express and work through something as close to home as body expectations is, of course, through dance. This is exactly what The Joffrey Ballet will be bringing to the stage at Dance for Life 2018 with Myles Thatcher's Body Of Your Dreams. DancerMusic caught up with choreographer Myles Thatcher to learn more about his work, as well as Joffrey Artists Derrick Agnoletti and Nicole Ciapponi to get perspectives on working with Myles and dancing this highly athletic work. Here's what they told us:
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:
Picture in your mind a dancer who you love to see perform. Now, imagine that dancer... in drag! If you're having trouble picturing this, then grab a ticket to Dance Divas 2018, where male dancers from some of Chicago's most recognized professional dance companies take on a fabulous, new persona for an even more fabulous cause. Dance Divas is the kickoff event to Dance for Life 2018, an event that Chicago Dancers' United describes as the "annual benefit performance that showcases the city’s unique diversity of talent, dance traditions, and styles." Both events directly benefit The Dancers' Fund, which supports dancers in the local community affected with critical health issues. DancerMusic's Kristi Licera caught up with one of the choreographers and original Dance Diva, Harrison McEldowney, to learn more about Dance Divas 2018. Here's what Harrison told us:
