Many a diehard Chicago dance fan knows that the Windy City gets hopping in the month of August.
Thanks to the HIV/AIDS benefit concert Dance for Life and the five-day Chicago Dancing Festival, local audiences can see a sampling of some of the best homegrown and internationally famed dance companies and choreography combined in multiple performances.
This August, both Dance for Life and the Chicago Dancing Festival commemorate important milestones.
Dance for Life on stage and screen
It's a sobering fact that the first cases of HIV/AIDS were reported 30 years ago. However, this year also marks a commemoration of the Chicago dance community's response to the AIDS crisis: The 20th anniversary of the Dance for Life concert benefiting HIV/AIDS organizations.
According to Dance for Life co-founder Danny Kopelson, Dance for Life has presented around 24 dance companies in 20 years while benefiting 28 different AIDS service organizations. In the process, Dance for Life has also raised around $4 million.
To commemorate Dance for Life's 20th anniversary, the concert has moved to its largest-ever venue: the 3,800-seat Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. On the bill are performances by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Joffrey Ballet, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, River North Dance Chicago, Ron de Jesus Dance plus two world premiere finales: Queenz by choreographer Harrison McEldowney and Stand by Me by Randy Duncan. WGN-TV's Dean Richards is set to host the performance.
Though previous Dance for Life performances have frequently sold out, Kopelson is nervous whether this year's edition will pull in the crowds. But Kopelson has plenty of faith in a new Dance for Life TV documentary set to air on WTTW Channel 11 to help drum up interest and ticket sales for the event.
"Is this just a vanity project?" questioned Kopelson and several other Dance for Life board members when the notion of a documentary was floated last year. There was also the concern of whether the money needed to produce a documentary should be put directly into HIV prevention and aid programs instead.
However, as it turned out, many donors were eager to fund the documentary and Kopelson said that it was completely underwritten in the course of two weeks. But more importantly, Kopelson says the documentary ties into the purpose of Dance for Life itself.
"The mission of the Dance for Life, which is also the mission of the documentary, is to promote dance in Chicago while raising funds and creating greater awareness of HIV and AIDS," Kopelson said about the documentary which captures the rehearsals and performances that went into the 2010 edition of Dance for Life. "That's what Dance for Life has always been and what it still is. It's that simplicity of that mission somehow we've proven to people that we can do that."
The hour-long HMS Media TV documentary on Dance for Life is broadcast on WTTW Channel 11 at 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11. The Dance for Life documentary is also to be rerun at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, and at 4 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13. The Dance for Life documentary may also be viewed via Comcast on Demand.
The 20th anniversary Dance for Life concert is at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. A gala reception is from 4:45-6:45 p.m. and the performance is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20. Gala-level tickets are $175-$500 and executive producer-level tickets are $1,000-$5,000. Call 312-922-5812 for gala and show tickets combos. Performance-only tickets are $50-$75. Call Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787. For more information, visit danceforlifechicago.com .
Chicago Dancing Festival
Another milestone being celebrated this August is the fifth anniversary of the Chicago Dancing Festival.
Created by Chicago-born choreographer Lar Lubovitch and former dancer Jay Franke, the Chicago Dancing Festival attracts dance companies from around the country for a series of mainly free performances at various Chicago locations.
This year's festival runs Aug. 22-27. Here's a breakdown of what's in store for the 2011 edition:
The Chicago Dancing Festival's opening night gala and benefit featuring Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as honorary chair is at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, at the Museum of Contemporary Art's MCA Stage, 220 E. Chicago Ave. Tickets are $250; call 773-609-2335 for more information.
The MCA Stage also is host to the concert "MCA Moves" at 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24. On the bill are independent and avant-garde dance artists' works and hosting by famed Martha Graham impersonator Richard Move. There is also a site-specific Japanese Butoh performance by Eiko & Koma at 7:30 p.m. on the MCA Plaza.
Also at the MCA Stage is a panel discussion on Muses at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26. Historian and writer Lucia Mauro talks with Martha Graham Dance Company artistic director Janet Eilber, Paul Taylor Dance Company rehearsal director Bettie de Jong, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's choreographer-in-residence Alejandro Cerrudo and Lar Lubovitch (artistic director of his Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Chicago Dancing Festival co-founder), for a discussion on the artistic relationship between choreographers and specific dancers. These two free MCA Stage presentations are currently sold out, but a waiting list will be made available prior to curtain time.
Two Chicago Dancing Festival concerts titled Moderns are at Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Dr. Moderns features members of New York's Doug Varone & Dancers, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Adam Barruch, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and River North Dance Chicago. The Moderns concert is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, while a shortened Lunchtime Series version is at noon Wed., Aug. 24. These performances are also free, but tickets are required. Call 312-334-7777.
A concert titled Masters featuring members of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and the Martha Graham Dance Company is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway. The performance is free, but tickets are required. Call 800-982-2787.
Dance movies like Invitation to the Dance, A Dancer's World, Dancemaker and The Red Shoes are also screened for free from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, at the Chicago Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theater, 78 E. Washington.
The Chicago Dancing Festival concludes with a free concert at Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. On the bill are members of the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet West, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, New York City Ballet and River North Dance Chicago. This concert is not ticketed, so be sure to arrive early to try to snag a seat or a spot on the lawn. All seating for all venues is general admission. Unclaimed tickets for ticketed events will be released 15 minutes prior to curtain time.
For more information on the entire Chicago Dancing Festival, visit chicagodancingfestival.com .
