15th annual Going Dutch exploring identity, mythology and transformation
The 15th annual Going Dutch is bringing two days of powerful performances to downtown Elgin Nov. 8-9. Produced by Side Street Studio Arts with support from the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, Going Dutch celebrates female and nonbinary voices in the arts through dance, theater, and multidisciplinary performance.
This year’s lineup features Ambo Dance Theatre, Eileen Tull, Christine Hands, Ramya Ravi, kt williams + artists, ZBRI Dance Ensemble, Dani Oblitas & Ava Faber, Tiffany Lawson, Rachel Benzing, and Jennifer Vosters, with works exploring mythology, queerness, identity, and transformation.
“Fifteen years of Going Dutch means fifteen years of creating space for artists to take risks and be heard,” said Erin Rehberg, Side Street Studio Arts founder and artistic director. “It’s a milestone year filled with artists who are challenging, questioning, and connecting through their work.”
All performances take place at Backspace at Side Street Studio Arts, 15½ Ziegler Ct., Elgin. The space is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets are $10 per show or $30 for a full weekend pass, available now at sidestreetstudioarts.org/tickets.
On Saturday, the Ambo Dance Theatre will present “Carmilla” at 6 p.m. Based on Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 gothic tale, it is a haunting and tender reimagining of one of literature’s earliest depictions of queer desire. Through a contemporary feminist lens, “Carmilla” unravels how femininity, power, and autonomy intersect with desire, reclaiming the so-called “monstrous” as resilience and self-possession.
At 7 p.m., Eileen Tull presents “Kassandra at the End of the World,” an exploration of the Greek prophetess cursed never to be believed. This solo work finds Kassandra on a mountaintop, bearing witness to the annihilation of humanity from climate collapse — at once mythic and urgently contemporary.
A dance showcase will begin at 8 p.m. featuring a powerful collection of short works by festival artists: Christine Hands, Ramya Ravi, kt williams + artists, ZBRI Dance Ensemble. Dani Oblitas & Ava Faber, and Tiffany Lawson.
On Sunday, Rachel Benzing presents “Memories in Motion” at 2 p.m. This one-woman, multidisciplinary performance weaves dance, spoken word, and visual art. This kaleidoscopic journey explores the way memory shapes identity, illuminating the shifting relationship between past and present self.
At 3 p.m., Jennifer Vosters will perform “Songs Without Words,” the humorous, heartbreaking, award-winning true story of one artistic soul inhabiting two very different artists. Featuring a solo actor's tour-de-force performance as sibling-composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, “Songs Without Words” wrestles enduring questions of gender and genius, family and fame, siblinghood and the power of art. No classical music knowledge required!
For full schedule and artist details, visit sidestreetstudioarts.org/goingdutch.