Emma Draves/Photo: Cheryl Mann

Art has a singular power of removing us, if only for an hour or two, from our habits and expectations to imaginary landscapes where we’re challenged, confused, delighted, sometimes angered—where we think in a previously non-existent direction, hammering out new dimensions in our consciousness. When art is at its best, we step away from the experience to view the commonplace differently. Shirley Mordine, founder of the Dance Center at Columbia College and director of Mordine and Co., created the NEXT festival last spring in the spirit of this exploration and addresses the concept directly in her new piece, “I Haven’t Gone There,” premiering at NEXT Fest this weekend. Mordine collaborated with performance artist Bryan Saner of the now-disbanded Goat Island Performance Group, and Mark Messing of spectacle marching band Mucca Pazza to create a theatrical tour through unusual encounters. Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

The multi-generational Perceptual Motion presents its annual concert this weekend at the Hamlin Park Studio—a fittingly intimate, spare space for a company that focuses on emotionally charged, deeply personal choreography. The program includes a world premiere by Perceptual Motion’s artistic director Lin Shook entitled “Dance of the Seven Chakras,” a commentary on the unifying and alienating effects of cell phones entitled “Are You Connected,” and “Oh, Michael” a tribute to late Mr. Jackson. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Hamlin Park Studio Theatre, 3035 N. Hoyne, 2nd floor, (773)549-3958. April 29 and 30, 7:30pm. $15, $12 students and seniors.

Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes/Photo: Gene Schiavone

RECOMMENDED

Ask anyone who has never seen a ballet to describe what they imagine it looks like and they’ll most likely talk about a chain of wispy ballerinas in shimmering white tutus strung together by the arms, flanking a slightly wispier ballerina in a slightly whiter, shimmerier tutu who, along with a male partner in tights, defies commonly understood laws of gravity and physiology. In short, they’ll describe “Swan Lake.” America’s cultural idea of ballet has been defined in no small part by Tchaikovsky’s 1876 masterpiece, and in great part by the American Ballet Theatre—the 70-year-old New York-based institution that once had Baryshnikov at its helm. ABT returns to Chicago with full orchestra to fill the Civic Opera with the kind of spectacle and virtuosity it was built for, performing one of the best-known ballets with choreography by artistic director Kevin McKenzie. The engagement opens with a Wednesday night program of works by American choreographers Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor and Jerome Robbins. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr. (800)982-2787. April 15-18. $20-125.

"Pure"/Photo: Sara Davis

By Valerie Jean Johnson

Dancer, choreographer, director, designer, artistic director—when I ask John Jasperse how he balances the many roles he plays within his eponymous dance company, he laughs, pauses and slyly replies, “You don’t wanna know.” The truth of the matter is that Jasperse wouldn’t have it any other way. In the twenty-plus years since he founded the John Jasperse Company/Thin Man Dance, this acclaimed artist—who brings his newest work, “Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking, and Flat Out Lies,” to the MCA this weekend—has been meticulously immersed in all aspects (creative, technical, and administrative alike) of developing each of his performances. “I juggle all of those things, I just do them,” he says. “As far as the artistic process, it’s a bit easier in some way because I don’t feel like all these [aspects] are different things. I feel like making work is making work—and light, and changing volumes of density in the space, and how you think about constructing physical space, it’s the same questions, they’re all interrelated.” He adds, “I’m really opinionated about all that stuff, so it’s very difficult for me to let it go.”

But Jasperse has certainly not cultivated a reputation as an auteur—on the contrary. “[John’s] always been the consummate collaborator, really open to ideas,” extols Yolanda Cesta Cursach, Associate Director of Performance Programs at the MCA who first brought Jasperse to Chicago in 2002 with “Giant Empty.” Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

Watching willowy stems en pointe in Chicago usually means a journey downtown, into the cavernous golden belly of the Auditorium Theatre and the attendant pomp associated with classical dance (including a sizeable ticket price for the sweet seats). Among the few exceptions are performances by Elements Contemporary Ballet, the young Evanston-based company that presents new dance works in the classical vein with impressive technicality and grace. For the next two weekends, the eleven-member company presents an evening-length program in the intimate Ruth Page Center, including a new work by artistic director Mike Gosney and a company premiere by guest choreographer James Gregg from the innovative and sexy BJM Danse Montreal. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn (312)337-6543. April 9-10 and 16-17 at 8pm. $20-25.

Jessie Gutierez/Photo: Eileen Ryan

Narratives—we human beings eat them up, seek them out, quite frequently imagine them where they don’t exist. They entertain, they educate, they frame our understanding of the world and ourselves. Jan Bartoszek, director of Hedwig Dances, has been thinking a lot about personal narratives during the company’s twenty-fifth anniversary year. Even the title of her new piece—”Dance of Forgotten Steps”—evokes images of myth and legend, like the title of a young-adult fantasy novel. Bartoszek found inspiration in the personal experiences of Hedwig’s six company members, plus seven additional dancers from the community, who recalled formative moments of their lives on tape for the show.

“The piece is about how important memories form our personal narratives and our identity and, in the subtext, the transitory nature of our lives,” Bartoszek says. “A lot of stories have to do with childhood experiences. My personal remembrances have to do with being out in nature in Northern Michigan with my father. Out in the woods…being it looking for mushrooms or just walking around trees and rivers and lakes—those memories are part of my relationship with him and part of who I am.” Read the rest of this entry »

For two decades, Judith Jamison has sat at the helm of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, staying true to the company’s mission of celebrating African American heritage while expanding the diversity and artistry of the company’s repertory. This year, the twentieth anniversary of Jamison’s role as artistic director, she will hand the reins of the legendary company to a yet-unnamed successor. The program this weekend at the Auditorium Theatre celebrates Jamison’s vision and her considerable contribution to the richness of the AAADT repertory. The centerpiece of the program is “Best of 20,” a collection of excerpts from thirteen pieces commissioned or revived by Jamison, choreographed by a diverse cross-section of talent, from heavy-hitters like Lar Lubovitch and Ronald K. Brown to emerging artists. Jamison’s “Love Stories,” a collaborative effort with Robert Battle and hip-hop artist Rennie Harris is also on the program, along with her new work “Among Us (Private Spaces: Public Places).” Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Todd Rosenberg

Hubbard Street’s Spring Program bursts with fresh material, showcasing the versatility and talent of the company. The program includes a world premiere by rehearsal director Terence Marling, punnily entitled “At’em (Atem) Adam”—references to the colloquialism “up and…”, the German word for breath and the Biblical first man. Marling provided the outline for the piece, but freed his cast to invent specific movements. His inviting score is comprised of music by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Edgar Meyer, amongst others.

The evening opens with a much-anticipated world premiere by the very gifted Alejandro Cerrudo—Hubbard Street’s first choreographic fellow—set to a piano transcription of Philip Glass’ opera “Orphee.” The piece was created for Hubbard Street 2—the company’s junior-varsity league, comprised of dancers between the ages of 17 and 25. Cerrudo’s new work explores contrasts of darkness and light, with emphasis on partnering work of the HS2 dancers. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Ravi Deepres

The transformation of cognition into physical grace is an alchemy practiced by every dancer, but choreographer Wayne McGregor has spent more than ten years with his company Random Dance putting the machine under the microscope to better understand the technicalities of the art. With consultation from neuroscientists, psychologists, linguists and experts in robotics, McGregor probes the elusive divide between mind and body—and what better close to the Dance Center’s “Science, Technology and Dance” series than McGregor’s “Entity,” a work inspired by the place where the intangible and mechanical meet: within the human body.

Read the rest of this entry »

RECOMMENDED

The company that did it first does it again this weekend at the Auditorium Theatre. The Tchaikovsky Ballet Theatre, founded in Perm in 1870 and dedicated to performing Pytor Illych’s works, rolls into Chicago with their production of Maurice Petipa’s 1890 original. “Sleeping Beauty” is widely considered Tchaikovsky’s best ballet and this is the company that originally staged it—needless to say they take it seriously. Principal dancers Natalia Moiseeva-Poleschuk and Sergey Mershin have a small armory of competitive ballet awards between them and the full company headcount is around sixty-five bodies. There will be spectacle and tulle aplenty, along with the superhuman virtuosity one comes to expect from Russian ballet: a satisfying fairy tale showpiece for lovers of the classics. (Sharon Hoyer)

At the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway, (800)982-2787. Saturday, March 20 at 7:30pm and Sunday, March 21 at 2pm. $32-87.