Fall marks the beginning of the dance season, kicking off a new year of festivals, performances and more. With so many opportunities to see great dance it is hard to know which to choose. Look out for a fall dance preview soon, with listings of what is going on in dance in Chicago. But for now, here are a few selections for the month of September that provide some chances to see multiple companies in one spot, take in years of repertory in one night or maybe even participate in a class yourself!
Chicago native Lar Lubovitch will showcase his company on the Harris theater stage this month. Founding the Chicago Dancing Festival in 2007 with the idea of building dance audiences in Chicago by providing a wide variety of excellent dance works, the same is true of Lubovitch's own company. A pioneer in the 1970s regarding minimalist music in dance, he continues to make new works at that same groundbreaking level today.
Opening the Harris Theater's seventh season, Lubovitch will present two separate programs on two different nights. Program A features Duet from Meadow ( 1999 ) , a male duet of flowing and lyrical movement set to the music of composer Gavin Bryars. Also included in this program are Marimba ( 1976 ) , with music from Steve Reich, and the recent work Coltrane's Favorite Things ( 2010 ) . Program B includes Cavalcade ( 1980 ) ; Nature Boy: Kurt Elling ( 2005 ) ; and Lubovitch's newest work, Dogs of War ( 2010 ) , which premiered in March 2010 at the Joyce Theater in New York. This piece depicts the brutality of battle on three video screens behind the dancers and set to Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat. Both programs will show North Star ( 1978 ) , one of Lubovitch's haunting pieces of work set to music by the same name by Philip Glass.
Michael Tiknis, president and managing director of the Harris Theater, comments on Lubovitch, "We are thrilled to present his return to Chicago, fresh off the profoundly popular and critically acclaimed setting of Othello for The Joffrey Ballet. It is a rare treat for Chicago audiences to have the opportunity to see such a diverse showcase of this master choreographer's work."
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company will perform at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 7:30 p.m., on Wed.-Thurs., Sept. 22-23; $45-$75. For tickets or more information, call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org .
The Dance Center of Columbia College celebrates 10 years in its home at 1306 S. Michigan with a free, day-long event. The piece "1306: Ten Years Later" will include performances, classes, events, workshops and multidisciplinary programs from Chicago dance artists. With a wide variety of styles, companies and performance type, the event has a little something for everyone. The event includes simultaneous programs happening all over the building. Many established companies will be performing on the main stage, leading classes and giving demonstrations.
A huge draw to 1306 is the price tag: free. Here are just a few options from the schedule of programs ( a full listing being available on the Dance Center website, www.colum.edu/dancecenter ) :
—Sound Installation: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. ( Northwest Stairwell ) Richard Woodbury presents his sound installation entitled Box Death Hollow.
—Movement Class: 10 a.m.-11 a.m. ( Studio 210 ) Yoga class with Nadine Lollino.
—FamilyDance Workshop: 2:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m. ( Theater ) geared towards younger children, this workshop allows families to participate in dance together. Taught by Chicago Human Rhythm Project.
—Master Class: 3:00-2:45p.m. ( Studio 200 ) Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago dancer Amansu Eason teaches choreography from Michael Jackson's Thriller.
—Performance: 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. ( Theater ) The work of 13 past or current Chicago Dancemakers Forum lab artists will be highlighted, including works from Rachel Bunting, Margi Cole, Rachel Damon, Carrie Hanson, Atalee Judy, Ayako Kato, Jonathan Meyer & Julia Antonick, Shirley Mordine, Julia Rhoads and Molly Shannahan.
—Performance: 10 p.m.-11 p.m. ( Theater ) There will be a special presentation of Poonie's Cabaret, a venue for improvisation and works-in-progress dance, music, performance art, vouging, drag, burlesque, cheerleading and puppetry. Artists will include curator/host Jyl Fehrenkamp ( aka Jyldo ) Mattrick Swaze, The Amazing Bendable Posable Dolls of Doom, Brian Daily, Boom Crack Dance Company and Smith & Grimm.
The Dance Center of Columbia College presents 1306-Ten Years Later, at The Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan, 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 25; free ( no tickets or reservations needed ) . For more information, including a complete schedule of the day, visit http://www.colum.edu/dancecenter.
The Other Dance Festival, in its ninth year, features a wide variety of Chicago modern-dance artists and companies spread over three weekends. Put on by Chicago Moving Company, this festival exists both to provide visibility to modern dance artists, and provide audiences with one place to see many different companies. This event is known for selling out, so get your tickets early, come see your favorite companies and maybe find some new dance to love. The line-up this year includes Chicago Moving Company, Jonathan Meyer, Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Mordine and Company Dance Theater, and Same Planet Different World Dance Theater the weekend of Sept. 16-17. Weekend two features Breakbone DanceCo., Peter Carpenter, Hedwig Dances, Lucky Plush Productions, The Seldoms, and Mordine and Company. Wrapping up with the final weekend are Matthew Hollis, The Humans, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape, the Moving Architects and Janet Schmid.
The Other Dance Festival is at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne, 7:30 p.m., Thursdays-Fridays, Sept. 16-17, 23-24 and Sept. 30-Oct. 1; single ticket $15, student/senior $12 and festival pass $35. For more information call 773-880-5402 or visit www.chicagomovingcompany.org .
