Rolling Meadows man marks two decades of ‘Dance for Life’
Rolling Meadows resident Keith Elliott is used to sold-out box office situations with “Dance for Life,” an annual program he co-founded to raise money for HIV/AIDS charities and local dancers facing life-threatening illnesses.
But Elliott is concerned that he and other “Dance for Life” producers might have aimed too high this year by presenting the event’s 20th anniversary in Chicago’s 3,877-seat Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. It’s the largest-ever venue for “Dance for Life,” which kicks off with a 4:45 p.m. gala benefit and 7:30 p.m. performance on Saturday, Aug. 20.
“I daily wake up sweating thinking how am I going to fill nearly 4,000 seats?” Elliott said in the run-up to the event. “But you know what, surprisingly enough, so far so good.”
This year’s anniversary edition features performances from Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, River North Chicago Dance Company and Ron De Jesus Dance, plus two separate world premiere finales (choreographers Harrison McEldowney and Randy Duncan respectively creating conclusions for Act I and II).
The event got a recent publicity boost that should help fill the larger venue. WTTW Channel 11 first aired HMS Media’s new TV documentary on “Dance for Life” on Thursday, Aug. 11, focusing on the annual event’s history with plenty of footage from the 2010 concert at Millennium Park’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance. (The documentary may still be viewed by Comcast subscribers via its Comcast on Demand feature.)
Though local dancers and choreographers who died from AIDS-related causes are featured, the documentary’s main focus is on the ongoing artistic contributions that have made “Dance for Life” one of the largest dance fundraising events in the Midwest.
The documentary filmmakers, under producer Scott Silberstein, “were just sticking true to how we present ‘Dance for Life’ and what we ask the dance companies to bring (to it),” Elliott said, naming off qualities such as “life-affirming” and “joyous work.” “Just so we’re really showing the dance community coming together, and I think that just naturally parlayed into the documentary.”
Elliott first dreamed up the idea of different Chicago dance companies donating their time for an HIV/AIDS fundraising concert in 1990. At the time, he was a dancer for the now-defunct Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre. Elliott worked with dance administrators Harriet Ross and Gail Kalver and event fundraiser Danny Kopelson (then with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago) to bring “Dance for Life” to fruition the following year.
“Dance for Life” has presented 24 dance companies in 20 years while benefiting 28 different AIDS service organizations, according to Kopelson. In the process, the event has also raised more than $4 million.
“I just love it because all of the dance community comes together for a great cause,” said Lombard native Robyn Mineko Williams, a Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dancer and veteran “Dance for Life” performer.
Williams wasn’t cast in this year’s Hubbard Street submission, but she still plans on attending. “I’ll be there in the stands, for sure,” she said.
Elliott is pleased at how “Dance for Life” has grown and thrived for two decades. But it’s also a solemn reminder that, 30 years after AIDS was first diagnosed, there is still no cure.
“Our philosophy is hopefully that it will end tomorrow, and then we can support a different cause,” Elliott said. “But for right now, our passion is to really stay committed to fighting this.”
Dance for Life
Location: Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago. (800) 982-2787 or <a href="http://www.danceforlifechicago.com">danceforlifechicago.com</a>
Showtime: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20; gala reception from 4:45 to 6:45 p.m.
Tickets: $50-$75 performance only; $175-$500 gala and show
Parking: Nearby pay lots and garages