[image]
[title]Sept 15 | Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre: Fall 2013 Concert Series
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre is known for delivering multi-sensory performances that braid together music, dance and visual art. Now celebrating its 15th season, CRDT presents dynamic new works emphasizing the cultural diversity of contemporary American life, as well as a revival of the signature piece, "Tom and Jerry." The performance also features members of the Cerqua Rivera Jazz Orchestra. Ruth Page Center for the Arts.
Sept 15 | Pilobolus
This Connecticut-based modern dance company is renowned for its creative, collaborative choreographic works. Named after a phototropic fungus that thrives in farmyards (as you probably guessed), Pilobolus has performed in 64 countries and appeared on everything from Sesame Street to Conan O'Brien. Poised to wow audiences once again, the company provides you with a great reason to get to Ravinia before the outdoor concert season ends. Ravinia.
Sept 19–22 | Joffrey Ballet: Russian Masters
Chicago's most prestigious ballet company pays tribute to Russia's most prestigious composers in this four-day run of "Russian Masters" celebrating the centennial of Vaslav Nijinsky's famously daring 1913 ballet, Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring). Each show is a compilation of the big names in Russian classical music—Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky (you know the guys) and Khachaturian (Spartacus)—and includes choreography by Nijinsky, Yuri Possokhov and the legendary George Balanchine. Auditorium Theatre.
Sept 26–29 | The Seldoms: Monument
The Chicago-based dance company returns to the trash heap with a remounting of Monument, a work exploring consumption, waste, landfills and humans' increasingly unbalanced relationship with the natural world. The title is in reference to the lasting effects and unintended consequences of consumption—specifically, the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island which, in addition to reaching higher than the Statue of Liberty(!), is one of the few man-made structures visible from space. The Seldoms' physicality and engagement with critical issues ensures it will be a powerful performance and a thought-provoking one. Stage 773.
Sept 27–29 | Fall 2013 LinkUP Showcase
Featuring work by Jose Hernandes and Liana C. Percoco (both artists in Links Hall's six-month residency program, LinkUP), this shared showcase includes Haberanero Shakedown #4: The Green Table and Planet X: The Nu Fantastiik. In the former, Percoco and three other performers confront different dining scenarios as the act of consumption becomes a means for exploring a smorgasbord of other issues—from family to food allergies to our ongoing search for fulfillment. The latter is a "seductive tour through world annihilation" (the only kind of world-annihilation tours we like) into a queer utopian society, where trans energy is considered divine. Links Hall at Constellation.
Oct 3–5 | Mordine & Company: I Haven't Gone There
Shirley Mordine returns to her roots with The Dance Center's performance series, which she founded in 1974. This time, she's onstage with six performers and four musicians for a revival of I Haven't Gone There... (2010), inspired by Commedia dell’Arte. The quirky, meandering piece takes unexpected twist and turns, while members of punk marching band Mucca Pazza perform a lively Mark Messing–composed score. Dance Center of Columbia College.
Oct 5 | Ballet West: The Sleeping Beauty
This family-friendly classic returns ot the Auditorium Theatre newly conceptualized by Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute. But all the beloved elements remain in place: a handsome prince, men dressed as knights and a ballerina princess pirhouetting to live Tchaikovsky. Auditorium Theatre.
Oct 6 | Ballet West: The Lottery
Literature and dance combine in this Val Caniparoli–choreographed retelling of Shirley Jackson's creepy 1948 short story, "The Lottery," about a fictional American town with a violent secret. Original musical score by Robert Moran. Auditorium Theatre.
Oct 10–12 | Same Planet Different World & Peter Carpenter Performance Project
Two Chicago-based companies come together for three evenings (and one afternoon) of meaningful dance. Featuring works by New York–based, Israeli-trained choreographer Netta Yerulshamy, SPDW director Joanna Rosenthal and independent choreographer Peter Carpenter, the performance hits on themes of moralism, power, domination and violence. Dance Center of Columbia College.
Oct 10–13 | Hubbard Street: Fall Series
Describing this performance its most "deeply personal" work yet, Hubbard Street's first of four big engagments for the 2013–14 season features contrasting works by Robyn Mineko Williams, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek and Alejandro Cerrudo. Among other highlights, Williams' world-premiere choregraphy features a collaboration with rising-star fashion designer (and former Chicago dancer) Hogan McLaughlin, as well as a new chamber-sized creation by resident choreographer Cerrudo. Harris Theater.
Oct 16, 19, 20, 24, 26, 27 | Joffrey Ballet: La Bayadere
This Joffrey premiere, set in India, tells a story of vengeance, love and sex. Starring a temple dancer caught in a love triangle, the spellbinding ballet features vibrant costumes, slithering snakes (live ones—no joke) and other types of spectacle. Not your typical night at the ballet. Choreography by Stanton Welch. Auditorium Theatre.
Oct 25 & 26 | Giordano Dance Chicago
The jazz dance company founded in 1963 by Gus Giordano celebrates its 50th anniversary season (and first year in Chicago, having relocated from Evanston) with elecrifying world premieres from Roni Koresh, artistic director of Koresh Dance Company, and resident choreographer Autumn Eckman. Expect some audience favorites, too. Harris Theater.
Nov 22 | Hungarian State Folk Ensemble
The world-renowned Hungarian State Folk Ensemble twirls into town for a one-night-only performance featuring traditional folkloric dances, colorful garb and authentic tunes that inspired the likes of Bartók, Liszt and Kodály. Auditorium Theatre.
Dec 12–15 | Hubbard Street: Winter Series
Back by popular demand, the full-length, full-company production One Thousand Pieces, inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows, highlights choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo and music by Philip Glass. Harris Theater.
More dance events.
RECOMMENDED: more things to do this fall