The fall line-up of dance returns, offering more variety, entertainment and culture than any new television program. From ballet to postmodern dance, check out what is happening in the Chicago dance scene in the coming months.
Celebrating its 10th season, Striding Lion Performance group presents an evening of new dance theater works entitled In Pieces. It features choreography from Annie Beserra and Adriana Durant and live music by the band Fluid Minds. Striding Lion Performance Group will perform at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffeld Suite 207, 8 p.m. on Friday- Saturday, 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15-17; $15, $10 students. For tickets or more information call 773-281-0824 or visit www.linkshall.org .
Opening the Harris Theater's seventh season, Lar Lubovitch will present two separate programs over two evenings. Both programs will show North Star ( 1978 ) , one of Lubovitch's most haunting pieces of work set to music of the same name by Philip Glass.
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company will perform at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 7:30 p.m., on Wed.-Thursday, Sept. 22-23; $45-$75. For tickets or more information, call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org .
The Other Dance Festival, in its ninth year, features a wide variety of Chicago modern dance artists and companies spread out over 3 weekends. This year's participating artists include Chicago Moving Company, Jonathan Meyer, Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Mordine and Company Dance Theater, Same Planet Different World Dance Theater, Breakbone DanceCo., Peter Carpenter, Hedwig Dances, Lucky Plush Productions, The Seldoms, Mordine and Company, Matthew Hollis, The Humans, Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape, the Moving Architects and Janet Schmid.
The Other Dance Festival will be held at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne, 7:30 p.m., on Thursdays-Fridays, Sept.16-Oct.1. $15 for a single ticket, students and seniors $12, and festival pass $35. For more information call 773-880-5402 or visit www.chicagomovingcompany.org .
The Lisa Dershin LinkUp residency program supplies artists with the resources needed to produce an evening-length piece over a six-month period. This showing presents the work that Emma Draves and Lily Emerson have been creating in the program. Draves explores modern dance and Bharata Natyam, while Emerson looks at a narrative of a time when the plastic discarded on the earth replaces humans. The Lisa Dershin LinkUP fall showcase, with artists Emma Dreaves and Lily Emerson, will be shown at Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffeld, Suite 207, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24-26; $15, $10 students. For tickets or more information call 773-281-0824 or visit www.linkshall.org .
The Dance Center of Columbia College celebrates 10 years in its home at 1306 S. Michigan with a free, daylong event. "1306: Ten Years Later" will include performances, classes, events, workshops and multidisciplinary programs from Chicago dance artists.
The Dance Center of Columbia College presents "1306: Ten Years Later," 10 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25; no tickets or reservations needed. For more information, including a complete schedule of the day, visit http://www.colum.edu/dancecenter.
Emily Johnson, an Alaska native, creates installations that use movement, text and live music to tell stories about memory and heritage. Her latest evening length work, The Thank-You Bar, encourages connection between audience and performers with limited up close and personal seating on the Dance Center stage. Emily Johnson/ Catalyst Dance will be presented at The Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., on Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 7-9; $26-$30. For tickets or more information, call 312-369-8330 or visit www.colum.edu/dancecenter.
The Joffrey Ballet-All Stars features pieces from George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon and Jerome Robbins. A diverse program, the evening will showcase the talent of Chicago's home ballet company. The Joffrey Ballet will perform at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress, various times on Wednesdays-Sundays, Oct. 13-24; $25-$145. For tickets or more information, call 312-386-8905 or visit www.joffrey.org .
Luna Negra Dance Theater presents a program of contemporary Latino dance with works by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Fernando Melo and Eduardo Vilaro. Luna Negra Dance Theater will perform at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 6:30 p.m., on Sat., Oct. 16; $25-$55. For tickets or more information, call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org .
Japan's most prominent Butoh dance company, Sankai Juku, will premiere in Chicago at the Harris Theater for one night only. This all-male company will perform Founder Ushio Amagatsu's signature work Hibiki: Resonance From Far Away, which takes place in a dreamlike landscape of sand and water. Sankai Juku, co-presented by The Dance Center of Columbia College, will perform at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 7:30 p.m., on Wed., Oct. 20; $35-$65. For tickets or more information call 312-369-8330 or visit www.colum.edu/dancecenter.
Giordano Dance Chicago presents LiveLife.Dance! an evening of jazz dance with high energy and diverse choreography. Works from Karen Mareck Grundy, Autumn Eckman, Rennie Harris, Brock Clawson and Ron DeJesus. Giordano Dance Chicago will perform at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 8:00 p.m., on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 22-23; $15-$60. For tickets or more information, call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org .
New York choreographer Yasuko Yokoshi explores questions of cultural authenticity and identity through the fusing of traditional Japanese Kabuki and Western modern dance. Yasuko Yokoshi will perform at The Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan, at 8 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday Oct. 28-30; $26-$30. For tickets or more information, call 312-369-8330 or visit http://www.colum.edu/dancecenter.
Breakbone Dance Co. presents "Course Of Empire: An Excavation on Building a City of the Interior." This work, a movement metaphor for building a monument, is directly informed by the five-part series of allegorical paintings created in 1833 by Thomas Cole. The evening features choreography from Artistic Director Atalee Judy, who will perform alongside Suzanne Dado, Anita Dillmore and Mindy Meyers. Breakbone Dance Co. will perform at the Viaduct Theater, 3111 N. Western, at 8 p.m. on Thursdays-Saturdays Nov. 11-20; $16 or $12 for students and seniors. For tickets or more information visit www.viaducttheatre.com or call 773-296-6024.
An acclaimed New York City dance company, Ballet Hispanico fuses ballet, modern and Latin forms of movement. Eduardo Vilaro, former artistic director of Luna Negra Dance Theater, returns to Chicago with Ballet Hispanico as they create a vibrant representation of contemporary Hispanic culture. Ballet Hispanico will perform at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 5; $35-$65. For tickets or more information, call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org .
Chicago Human Rhythm Project presents "Global Rhythms 6," an evening of tap dance celebrating the company's 20th-anniversary season. The event will feature Be the Groove, Diabolus in Musica and BAM! "Rhythms" will take place at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 26; $15-$55. For tickets or more information call 312-334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org .