Swing and sashay: 'The Year of Chicago Dance' continues
Time is running out to experience "The Year of Chicago Dance."
Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events joined with local dance companies to make that designation for 2022 to shine a spotlight on dance in and around the Windy City. Many troupes were seriously hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, so now is the time to help dance companies as they get back on their feet.
Whether it be ballet, jazz, folk or modern dance, there's a variety of styles for you to enjoy dancers and choreographers via their virtuosic movement.
Bountiful ballet
The Joffrey Ballet, which has made Chicago its home since 1995, stages its second full season at the Lyric Opera House. Amid a mix of story ballets and repertory pieces, there are some impressive premieres and returning favorites.
"Beyond Borders" (Oct. 12-23) features a world premiere by choreographer Chanel Dasilva, plus revivals of Gerald Arpino's "Suite Saint-Saëns" and Liam Scarlett's "Vespertine."
Two story ballets with Russian influences follow. Christopher Wheeldon's 2016 re-imagining of Tchaikovsky's classic Christmas ballet "The Nutcracker" (Dec. 3-27) is back in its lavish Chicago setting inspired by the 1893 Columbian Exposition. "Anna Karenina" (Feb. 15-26), Yuri Possokhov's acclaimed 2019 dance adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's tragic novel of love and adultery, also makes a return.
Closing out the Joffrey season is the Chicago premiere of "The Little Mermaid" (April 19-30). Leave the small kids at home, since choreographer John Neumeier and composer Lera Auerbach's 2005 dance adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's tragic love story is not recommended for children younger than 12.
The Joffrey Ballet also appears at other Windy City venues like Symphony Center (Nov. 10-12) for another collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra featuring new works by choreographers Cathy Marston and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Diverse choreographers are also featured in the Joffrey Academy of Dance's annual "Winning Works" (March 17-19) at the Museum of Contemporary Art. For details, visit joffrey.org.
Contemporary and jazz
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago commemorates its 45th anniversary season with modern repertory programs filled with premieres and revivals.
The company's Fall Series is "Refraction" (Sept. 29 through Oct. 2) at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago. On the bill is "The Windless Hold" by Osnel Delgado, a world premiere by Randy Duncan and "Dichotomy of a Journey" by Darrell Grand Moultrie.
The Spring Series is titled "Elements" and shifts to the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago. Program A (March 23-26) features a world premiere by Thang Dao, the company premiere of Lar Lubovitch's "Coltrane's Favorite Things," and returning works by Kyle Abraham and Aszure Barton. Program B (March 30 through April 2) features a world premiere by Hope Boykin and returning works by Osnel Delgado, Spenser Theberge and Aszure Barton.
The Summer Series is "Facets" at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago. Program A (May 18-19) includes revivals of dances by Randy Duncan, Lar Lubovitch and Rennie Harris. Program B (May 20-21) features works by Thang Dao, Hope Boykin, Rennie Harris and Rena Butler.
For details, visit hubbardstreetdance.com.
Giordano Dance Chicago is also celebrating an anniversary season - its 60th. America's first company specializing in jazz dance has home season performances at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance (Oct. 21-22). The spring 2023 shows (March 31 and April 1) notably feature an evening-length world premiere commission by choreographer Kia S. Smith in collaboration with South Chicago Dance Theatre.
Giordano Dance Chicago also appears in the suburbs with performances at College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn (Oct. 15) and at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie (Feb. 11). For details, visit giordanodance.org.
Festival samplers
A collective way to see several smaller dance troupes or rising choreographers is through locally produced dance festivals.
The Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival (Sept. 23-24 and Sept. 30 and Oct. 1) plays two weekends at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago. Just a few of the local companies include Aerial Dance Chicago, Joel Hall Dancers, JBC Choreography, plus visiting troupes from other states including California, Florida and Ohio. A full roster can be found at hccdf.com.
Another festival is Elevate Chicago Dance (Oct. 13-16) at six locations (both indoors and out) around Chicago. Elevate Chicago Dance features 30 local companies and individual dance makers including Hedwig Dances, Ishti Collective and more. Genres explored include dance on camera, installation performance and more. For a full list of locations and performances, visit chicagodancemakers.org.
Subscription samplers
The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago both offer subscription packages in dance.
Some of the local companies performing on the stage of the historic Auditorium Theatre include: Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater (Oct. 1), Deeply Rooted Dance Theater (Nov. 5), Dorrance Dance, Trinity Irish Dance Company and M.A.D.D. Rhythms (April 22) and South Chicago Dance Theatre (June 10).
And over at the Harris Theater, Muntu Dance Theatre gets interactive with its 50-year specialization in African dance, music and folklore with a performance called "Jamboree" (Sept. 25).
Visiting companies
The Auditorium Theatre's Global Series that hosts international and other North American dance companies includes: Kyiv City Ballet (Sept. 24-25), The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan (Oct. 14-15), Step Afrika! (Jan. 14), Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Feb. 11), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (March 8-12) and American Ballet Theatre (April 14-16). Visit auditoriumtheatre.org.
Chicago's Harris Theater notably has a double bill of Pina Bauch's "The Rite of Spring" and "common ground[s]" (Oct. 27-28), the Windy City premiere of John Neumeier's "The Glass Menagerie" (Feb. 23-25) performed by the Hamburg Ballet and Alonzo King LINES Ballet, which performs the new work "Deep River" (May 5-6).
College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn also hosts visiting dance company tours this season. The acclaimed modern dance troupe Pilobolus celebrates its 50th anniversary with "Big Five-Oh!" (Feb. 5). Other visiting dance performances include "MALEVO" (Feb. 25) and Wings: "A Celtic Dance Celebration" (Feb. 26).
The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine is also scheduled to tour to two suburban venues with classic Tchaikovsky story ballets. The visiting company performs Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" (Nov. 16) at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie and then "Sleeping Beauty" (Nov. 17) at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan.
'Nutcracker' variations
And as usual, Tchaikovsky's classic Christmas ballet "The Nutcracker" returns this holiday season in productions both grand and petite.
"Nutcracker! Magic of Christmas Ballet" (Dec. 4) is on tour at the Rosemont Theatre for two performances.
Ballet Chicago's 20th anniversary of its take on "The Nutcracker" (Dec. 9-18) is at the Athenaeum Theatre, and so is A & A Ballet's "The Art Deco Nutcracker" (Dec. 3).
Salt Creek Ballet has a tour of its version of "The Nutcracker" at Hinsdale Central (Nov. 26-27), the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie (Dec. 2-3) and concludes at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn in tandem with the New Philharmonic (Dec. 17-18).
Dancenter North's "The Magic of the Nutcracker" (Dec. 21-22) plays the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, while Schaumburg's Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts produces its own in-house "Nutcracker" (Dec. 2-11).