Elgin native does double duty as dancer, choreographer
Much is made of movie stars who not only act in front of the camera, but also take charge behind the scenes as directors - sometimes doing double duty on the same project.
A similar situation is currently being faced by Elgin native Hanna Brictson, who has danced with River North Dance Chicago (RNDC) since 2004 after graduating from Larkin High School.
Brictson is not only choreographing her first world premiere for RNDC called "Beast," she's also dancing in it, along with performing in another world premiere by choreographer Adam Barruch called "the frost that binds." These two premieres join other repertory works by choreographers Iván Pérez and RNDC artistic director Frank Chaves for the 25-year-old dance company's Chicago spring engagement at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on Saturday, March 28.
"Usually people don't dance in their own things when they're choreographing," said Brictson. "In the beginning of my creation, we used an apprentice to be 'me' in the dance so that I could really just be on the outside and create it not even thinking I was in it."
But in the past few weeks, she has been inserting herself into her own work and finding out the hard way that she's got to catch up.
"It's funny, because these girls have been doing it for a while so they're definitely up to par on it with their stamina," Brictson said. "And I'm huffing and puffing and thinking, 'Wow, this is hard. I made this up?'"
Chaves gave Brictson the opportunity to create a new work for RNDC, specifically to showcase the company's six female dancers and to partially counterbalance his all-male repertory piece "In the End," which is also on the bill. In addition to her role as a RNDC company dancer, Brictson has worked as Chaves' rehearsal assistant to create movement for his new works.
"This has been a long time coming," said Chaves in a statement, praising Hanna's artistic growth through her years with RNDC. "Her gifts are immeasurable. We're overjoyed that her first piece for the company will be taking place on the prestigious Auditorium stage."
Rather than taking an expected lyrical route for an all-female dance, Brictson opted for a more challenging approach. She wanted to explore how many women, emotionally or physically, "reach a point where you can either break down or you can keep going and push yourself into a new range where you've never been before."
Women who successfully face their issues can do so in "beast mode," as Brictson describes it, despite societal norms that condition women against showing forms of aggression or assertiveness.
"We all have that inside of us," Brictson said. "I wanted it to be a vulnerable state and people can watch it unfold onstage."
But she also wanted to highlight the women's femininity as well, which is why she chose to costume the dancers in long skirts.
Brictson is awed that the show will premiere at the 125-year-old architectural landmark Auditorium Theatre, where she's grown up seeing so many other dance companies perform. But she does have one regret about "Beast."
"I'm kind of bummed that I can't see it," said Brictson, pointing out how she'll be experiencing it "on the stage that night."
River North Dance Chicago
Location: Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago, (800) 982-2787,
Showtime: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 28
Tickets: $27-$67