Dance for Life returns to the Auditorium Theatre with a spectacular program including six of Chicago’s premiere dance companies – Chicago Dance Crash, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and The Joffrey Ballet—and a finale by Randy Duncan. Check out what is on the program for this year’s performance:
Giordano Dance Chicago performs SOUL, choreographed by Ray Leeper, a high-energy contemporary work to music performed by Tina Turner, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Al Green.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs an excerpt from Decadance/Chicago, choreographed by Ohad Naharin, which has been called “spectacularly immersive” by the Chicago Tribune and “a journey you’ll want to experience over and over” by the New York Times.
The Joffrey Ballet performs a pas de deux from Bells, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov for the Joffrey to music by Sergei Rachmaninov, which is based in classical ballet but is more contemporary, with hints of Russian folk dance. The second work, Lorelei, choreographed by Nicolas Blanc to music by Jessica Rose Weiss, is a haunting tale, based on the mythological title character, that explores the energy of longing and the movement of desire, as Lorelei and Henri dance a pas de deux quite literally to death.
Chicago Dance Crash performs Leap of Faith, choreographed by Artistic Director Jessica Deahr, which showcases its span of breakdance, acrobatics, hip hop, and concert dance techniques with a celebration of movement in the most raw, pure form.
Chicago Human Rhythm Project performs MOVEMENT 11, choreographed by Dani Borak, who was inspired by the musical work of the same name by Bugge Wesseltoft, Henrik Schwarz, and Dan Berglund. Borak fell in love with the music’s strong mystical tension and tantric groove, made even more powerful by its simplicity. The movements and rhythms evolved through a process of captured improvisation, music visualization and emotional response.
Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater performs an excerpt from Mar de Fuego/Sea of Fire, a flamenco contemporary ballet choreographed by Carlos Rodriguez. Dedicated to the late Dame Libby Komaiko, Ensemble Español founder, for her love, passion, and dedication to the art form of Spanish dance, music, arts, culture, and education.
Also on the program, former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) dancer and award-winning choreographer Robyn Mineko Williams presents a “first look” at a work, Echo Mine, featuring Jacqueline Burnett and Meredith Dincolo, inspired by the late Claire Bataille — one of HSDC’s founding dancers, as well as a choreographer and director of the Lou Conte Dance Studio.
