Keith Elliott is not a born and bred dancer, the kind you would see hoping for a spot on So You Think You Can Dance or being beaten by a woman with a stick on
Fame. His first foray into the world of dance was spent in front of a mirror imitating Baryshnikov.
"My parents caught me doing it. They just laughed," Elliott said. "There was no shame in dancing. I think my parents wanted me to go into the arts."
Elliott's life began in the Village of Rantoul, Ill. "We moved to Hawaii for a bit, but that move was driven by the Air Force," he said. Elliott is a born and bred Midwesterner. He started college in Canton, Mo., and finally ended up at Illinois State University. Surprisingly, he still had not taken a single dance class.
"Oh I used to watch the classes. There was something about the physicality—the kinetics and movement that I enjoyed watching," said Elliott.
Even after his fascination with the art, Elliott still was not sure about dancing for a living. He ended up in Indianapolis at a bartending school. From there he moved to California. "My car broke down in Salt Lake City. I only had $500 to my name. It cost $500 to fix my car but I made it to Carmel, Calif.—obviously with not very much money," he said.
While bartending at Andre's of Carmel, he started taking a few jazz dance class. "I thought to myself, could I really like this?" he said.
A job as a flight attendant with United Airlines got Elliott back to the Midwest and Chicago. "I lived for a while at Wabash and Chicago but then later moved up near Wrigley," he said.
Elliott's schedule left some free time. It was then that he started to take dance classes seriously at Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater. "When I wasn't flying, I was studying. I felt that I really wanted to be there," said Elliott. He was soon granted an apprenticeship and then a company contract while still employed with United.
"I danced Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. I worked so much that I would actually cry."
Elliott's dance career began in the mid-'80s during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. "So many other dancers were just dying," Elliott said, "even Joseph Holmes himself died from AIDS complications then." During the beginning of Elliott's career, the dance company had been successful with full 52-week travel contracts. "Then in 1990, we had a 36-week travel contract with the summer off. It was that summer I sat down with Todd Keich and worked on a concept that would become Dance For Life."
With Harriet Ross, who was then the associate artistic director of Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater, and the involvement of Danny Kopelson at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Dance For Life had its inaugural, sold-out performance in 1991.
"I could not believe that we had sold out. I remember running into the lobby and telling the people still waiting to get in that we were sold out and hearing them jeer 'You suck!'" Elliott recalled.
"Why this concept took and others didn't? I just don't know," he said.
Now in its 20th season, Dance For Life is the most successful concept of its kind in the Midwest and one of the most successful in the country.
"I'm still fighting for the integrity of the event. I want to the dancers and artists and staff to know that they are appreciated, " said Elliott.
Dance For Life's 20th Anniversary also brought the message and mission of the organization to the suburbs.
"We felt we needed to bring this to the suburbs. A lot of people haven't experience it yet," said Elliott. Dance For Life started "The Awareness Initiative," which brought Dance For Life and activism to the schools. At New Trier High School, the Dance For Life mentors brought together a "Spring Fling Dance Workshop." It became Dance For Life in miniature.
"We taught them how to ask for money, set up committees. It was cute and good experience for them. It was cute until those kids raised over $12,000. They really blew us away," Elliott said.
Dance For Life also introduced a pilot program for choreographers. Called LIFTED and held at the Ruth Page Center, the program hopes to bring in both dancers and choreographers from the entire area.
When asked about the future for Dance For Life, Elliot responded, "How do you sustain that kind of energy? What do you do in the 21st year? I think the events of this year will help," said Elliott, who also pointed to the suburban outreach programs like the "Awareness Initiative" and LIFTED as other ways to inspire growth and sustainability.
"This is about sustaining the performance and still providing the audience a beautiful show. It's an evening of pure entertainment and artistry," he said.
Dance For Life's 20th Anniversary performance will be Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011 at 7:30 at the Auditorium Theater located at 50 E. Congress. There is also a special pre-event gala. Tickets are available at www.danceforlifechicago.com .
