Chicago Dancers United ( CDU ) announced that "Dance for Life 2020: United as One," which took place Aug. 10—15, exceeded its financial goal, raising more than $170,000 in contributions from nearly 700 donors.
Dance for Life 2020: United as One showcased Dance for Life performances from the past 29 years via video recordings on its website, ChicagoDancersUnited.org. Said recordings included works by the annual Partner Dance CompaniesGiordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and The Joffrey Balletas well as past and present companies, including Hanna Brictson and Dancers, Chicago Dance Crash, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Muntu Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, Thodos Dance Chicago, Trinity Irish Dance Company and Visceral Dance Chicago.
Additional videos revisited previous Dance for Life finales by Randy Duncan and Harrison McEldowney/Jeremy Plummer.
The culminating virtual event on Aug. 15the original date for the 29th anniversary of Dance for Life scheduled at the Auditorium Theatrefeatured the world premiere of "Get It Together," choreographed by Hanna Brictson in response to COVID-19 and performed by 23 dancers from throughout the Chicago area. The hosts for the evening were Cortney Hall and Matthew Rodrigues, co-hosts of NBC Chicago's program Chicago Today.
The final event also featured a Dance for Life highlights reel, remarks from board members and sponsors, details about resources available from The Dancers' Fund, information about the 30th anniversary of Dance for Life in 2021 and more.