Through Saturday at the Dance Center, "Eliki Munda | What Lies Within" has been a decade in the making. Shortly before Vershawn Sanders-Ward formed her Red Clay Dance Company on Chicago's So…
"It's our birthday!" said Patricia Barretto, president and CEO of the Harris Theater, in her Thursday night curtain speech. It was 15 years to the day since the underground marvel opened its…
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is a majestic art nouveau gem in the heart of Mexico City, standing on the edge of the oldest urban green space in the Americas, the Alameda Central. Considered o…
The Harris Theater can be a tough space for dance companies, swallowing up the subtleties of fine-tuned gestures, text or facial expressions. It's got a chilly subterranean atmosphere that r…
Choreographer Tere O'Connor splits his time between New York and Champaign, where he is a professor in the dance department at the University of Illinois. As the occasional U. of I. alum has…
When you consider that just a few months ago dancers of the Joffrey Ballet were standing at the lip of the Auditorium Theatre's stage in their underwear as part of Alexander Ekman's "Midsumm…
Every great city with a great ballet company deserves a great "Swan Lake," and until recently, Chicago didn't really have a full-scale production to call our own. Sure, the pre-professional …
If break dancing and bossa nova had a baby, it might look something like the style of Ephrat Asherie Dance, which performs its evening-length Chicago debut titled "Odeon" through Saturday at…
The first thing you'll notice walking into the Edlis Neeson Theater at the MCA for "Unwanted" is a striking, free-standing mural placed just off-center on the stage. The corrugated metal tot…
A chicly renovated lobby and some important behind-the-scenes updates to the beloved Ruth Page Center for the Arts have made a once-dilapidated space fresh and inviting for the ninth edition…
In 2016, veteran choreographer, dancer and educator Margi Cole announced she was folding her Dance COLEctive ensemble after 20 years of operation. Rather than continuing as a conventional da…
Entering Links Hall's Studio A Thursday night, there was a cozy living room vibe with just two rows of seating and warm lamp lighting from a gaggle of incandescent table lamps spread around …
When that first chill hits the air, it brings a wave of concert dance that's been fairly dormant during the dog days of summer. Think not about "Nutcrackers"; now is the time to see dance. S…
When experimental choreographers Bob Eisen, Carol Bobrow and Charlie Vernon rented a studio space together in 1978, they surely didn't predict it would be around 40 years later. They called …
Now in its 45th season, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago has grown from a small building in Uptown, isolated from Columbia's main campus, to a four-story facility in the heart of…
On Saturday, the dance community will gather for "Dance for Life," a must-see annual staple on Chicago's summer dance calendar. If you're interested in dance, "Dance for Life" is a great all…
In theater, it's not uncommon for a production to have several weeks, if not months, of performances. The actors jell with each other and learn more about their characters. The director cont…
Here's what I remember from playing in my high school jazz band for nine months: When improvising with other musicians, say "yes" to what they're offering. Use the song's base rhythm and cho…
How can it be that not one, but two dances this year are inspired by mushrooms? Now at the Hyde Park Art Center, Erica Mott Productions and Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble present "Mycelial: St…
On the heels of its 20th anniversary, Aerial Dance Chicago presents "Blackbird," an ambitious full-length work highlighting the company's signature blend of contemporary dance and aerial art…
Eleven years ago, a 20-minute phone call between Katie McCann and Krista Bryski-Richard resulted in Dance in the Parks, a nonprofit organization whose mission is pretty simple: They dance in…
The always daring Chicago Tap Theatre premiered its first rock spectacular in 2016 " an extravaganza blending tap dance with the music of Queen for a summer tribute to LGBT Pride. "Killer Qu…
Ensemble Espanol ends each season " of which there have now been 42 " with "Flamenco Passion," the main attraction of the annual American Spanish Dance & Music Festival at Skokie's North Sho…
This weekend, the Hyde Park School of Dance celebrates its 25th anniversary with four performances of "Amira: A Chicago Cinderella Story." This world premiere, a modern, abbreviated take on …
At age 69, Joel Hall is preparing for the next phase of his career, officially naming Jacqueline Sinclair as heir apparent to the Joel Hall Dancers & Center. Sinclair has danced with the com…