Why the Hemmens is a popular peformance venue for Indian dance schools

When Anjali Varghese was only 3 years old, she began her training in Indian classical dance.

"It's like an ocean. I've been doing it for 15 years but there's still so much to learn," said the 18-year-old freshman at Oakton Community College.

Anjali performed with a group of her contemporaries at a special, invitation-only performance on Aug. 1 at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin's city center, along the banks of the Fox River.

"It's like a graduation from learning the basics of the art form," she said.

After the show, Anjali and nearly 400 guests congregated in the exhibition hall downstairs, one level below Hemmens' main auditorium, for a dinner reception and dancing to a disc jockey.

The celebration also marked the beginning of Anjali's ongoing pursuit of dance excellence.

Anjali said she plans to continue dancing, much like her grandmother, who still dances at the age of 86.

A student at her mother Ruth's school, the Kalapadma Dance Academy in Des Plaines, Anjali said she likes that the dances, mostly choreographed, also allow for slight improvisation.

"It's really fun, especially when you dance with live musicians," she said, adding that "graduation" performances are usually accompanied by live music.

Ruth said she founded the school to carry forward a tradition started by her parents, who ran a similar dance school in India.

"It teaches them discipline. It's a complete body exercise. It's mind, body and soul," she said of the exclusively female dance tradition.

While her students have performed at several venues in the Chicago suburbs, she said she has found the Hemmens to be exceedingly accommodating and particularly well-suited to the dance troupe's needs.

This past summer, the Hemmens hosted two private performances by Kalapadma students and another performance is already booked for 2016.

Over the past six or seven years, the Hemmens Cultural Center has hosted increasing numbers of traditional Indian dance performances, said Butch Wilhelmi, center director. Wilhelmi has been with the Hemmens since 1986.

"We had five in July and August," he said.

Two years ago, the city-owned venue hosted two such events. Wilhelmi said three confirmed Indian dance performances are scheduled for the summer of 2016, to date.

The performances are not ticketed and not open to the public.

"They'll generally have families coming in from India," he said. "They send out invitations to their guests."

Wilhelmi said the Hemmens also presents public events such as the Elgin Short Film Festival, the First Friday Improv shows, Elgin Symphony Orchestra concerts and summer theater productions.

And the center often hosts quinceanera events for Hispanic girls, he said. Those events, which are comparable to cotillions, are distinct from the Indian dance events, which are more like recitals rather than coming-of-age celebrations.

"These are more of a graduation," he said of the Indian programs.

For the price of the 1,200-seat auditorium's rental, clients are provided with the services of a building, lighting and sound crew and a staff assistant, along with a lobby attendant. The assistance of additional crew members is available for an additional fee, he said.

Each event demands different staffing levels, he said.

"It depends if they're doing a live band or follow spots (spotlights)," he said.

Most Indian dance shows are matinees, some going as long as six hours.

Wilhelmi said the Hemmens' ability to provide good service and abundant space may explain its increasing popularity with Indian dance troupes.

"We have a good staff, good sound and lighting support," he said.

Wilhelmi said the lower-level, 11,340-foot exhibition hall offers a place to seat up to 700 people, a capability not common among performance spaces.

"This summer we had three shows in the Hemmens," said Sheetal Dhanani, director of the Tarana Kathak Dance Academy in Aurora. "They were a big success. We had 800-plus people at all three shows."

Dhanani, who has been teaching Indian dance in the suburbs for more than 20 years, said she has booked the Hemmens for performances for more than the past 10 years.

"It's beautiful. It is a really nice staff, very cooperative," she said. "They have beautiful lighting."

Dhanani said she and her students also find the exhibition hall dining area at the Hemmens to be a huge draw.

"Not many halls have the dinner part," she said. "We have caterers who bring the food. It's almost like a mini-wedding."

Dhanani said her dance group has performed on stages and in auditoriums all over the Chicago area. With audience members coming from every direction, she said, it's difficult to find a space that's convenient for all.

"The location is the only challenge," she said of the Elgin hall.

Overall, though, she said, the hall offers advantages that are hard to come by.

"The Hemmens is my first choice," she said.