Dear Chicago Dance Lovers,
This year again, we are thrilled to present your favorite pop-up summer dance festival, 31 with our annual kickoff performance on the beautiful Stage at Navy Pier
Throughout June, SCD presents 34 dance companies and artists in 14 distinct performance and instructional events. It is our honor to showcase dynamic artists and the Chicago Park District (at the scenic Palmisano Park in Pilsen) to bring you a fantastic array of dances from across the city and around the globe. The 2025 Chicago Dance Month performers were selected by our Curatorial Committee whose insights lift up new voices and further diversify our program offerings.
In April, we gave ourselves the best birthday gift we can imagine—a machine learning and a custom-built search engine. The functionality of this beautiful new site far exceeds our old site, which was already the most comprehensive Web resource for dance information news, and events in Chicago and one of the largest websites in the United States dedicated to the art form. If you haven’t visited recently, do yourself a favor and click on over. Our members are adding more performances and other dance events to our online calendar every day.
As you enjoy the free Chicago Dance Month events and attend other performances around town, please notice how you experience the richness of humanity through dance and the thrill of sharing that experience, in person, with others. is nothing like it.
If you are able, please consider making a donation to a favorite dance company or artist. In these changing times, institutional funding and individual donations are increasingly in flux for all of us.
Advocacy for our sector is part of what we do. SCD is always in the background—the “unseen force” behind the proud and powerful dance community in Chicago. Your donation to SCD today helps to make all of this possible.
We are truly grateful!
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Chicago Dance Month programming is labeled with the red See Chicago Dance icon. All programming is subject to change. Please visit SeeChicagoDance.com for frequent updates and further details.
May 31
CHICAGO DANCE MONTH KICKOFF
Navy Pier: Lake Stage
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago Sat 4pm, Free
June 1
Stomping Grounds
Chicago Human Rhythm Project
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts 915 E 60th St, Chicago Sun 5pm, Free
June 2
Marvelous Monday 2025
Modern Marvels Dance Company
Northcenter Town Square 4100 N Damen Ave, Chicago Mon 7pm, Free
June 4
Pier Dance: Bollywood Groove
Navy Pier: Wave Wall Stage 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago Wed 6:30pm, Free
June 5–8
For All We Know
Chicago Tap Theatre
The Edge Theater
5451 N Broadway, Chicago Thur–Fri 7pm, Sat–Sun 2pm, $35–65
June 5–22
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
The Joffrey Ballet
Lyric Opera House
20 N Wacker Dr, Chicago Thur–Sat 7:30pm, Sat–Sun 2pm, $36–207
June 6
Dance Residency Open Studio Series: Ginger Krebs
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Chicago Cultural Center (Dance Studio)
78 E Washington St, Chicago Fri 6pm, Free
June 6–7
Spring Concert Series 2025
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 N Dearborn St, Chicago Fri 7:30pm, Sat 2pm, $39–79
June 7
New Works
Synapse Arts
Lincoln Park Cultural Center 2045 N Lincoln Park West, Chicago Sat 1pm, Donations Welcome
June 7
Wave Wall Moves
Navy Pier: Wave Wall Stage
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago Sat 4pm, Free
June 8
Dance Residency Open Studio Series: Ishti Collective
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Chicago Cultural Center (Dance Studio)
78 E Washington St, Chicago Sun 2pm, Free
June 8
Dance Party
Desueño Dance
Movement on Montrose 2951 W Montrose Ave, Chicago Sun 5pm, $15
June 9
Dance Residency Open Studio Series: Erin Kilmurray
Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Chicago Cultural Center (Dance Studio)
78 E Washington St, Chicago Mon 6pm, Free
June 11
Pier Dance: Traffic Jam Swing
Navy Pier: Wave Wall Stage
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago Wed 6:30pm, Free
June 13
Raks Inferno: An Intimate Circus
Speakeasy
Raks Inferno
The Newport Theater
956 W Newport Ave, Chicago Fri 7pm, $29–39
June 13
Wonder
773 Dance Project
Kennedy King College Theater
740 W 63rd St, Chicago Fri 7pm, Donations Welcome
June 13–14
Spring Show
Ruth Page School of Dance
1016 N Dearborn St, Chicago Fri 7pm, Sat 1 & 5pm, $25
June 13–15
Common Ground
The Rooted Space
1803 W Byron St, Suite 201, Chicago Fri–Sat 7:30pm, Sun 4pm, Pay-What-You-Can
June 14
Elpis Dance Festival 2025
Identity Performing Arts
Visceral Dance Center
3121 N Rockwell St, Chicago Sat 3pm, Free
June 14
Wave Wall Moves
Navy Pier: Wave Wall Stage
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago Sat 4pm, Free
June 17
Open Rehearsal Khecari
Indian Boundary Cultural Center 2500 W Lunt Ave, Chicago Tue 12:30pm, Free
June 17
On the Move
Palmisano Park
2700 S Halsted St, Chicago Tue 5:30pm, Free
June 18
Pier Dance: Mad Dog
Navy Pier: Wave Wall Stage
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago Wed 6:30pm, Free
June 18–21
New Dances 2025
DanceWorks Chicago & Thodos Dance Chicago
Ruth Page Center for the Arts
1016 N Dearborn St, Chicago Wed–Sat 7pm, $20–80
7/28 - 8/8
6/16 - 6/20 7/28 - 7/1
8/4 - 8/8
Ensemble Español
Spanish Dance Theater
NOV 15, 2025
Martha Graham Dance Company
JAN 24, 2026
Trinity Irish Dance Company
FEB 28, 2026
Turn It Out with Tiler Peck and Friends
MAR 7-8, 2026
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
APR 24-26, 2026
Showcasing five female-led companies breaking barriers and paving the way for
Tiler Peck,
photo by NYC Dance Project (Ken Browar & Deborah Ory).
Chicago Human Rhythm Project: The world’s longestrunning tap festival turns 35!
By Tristan Bruns
This July, tap dancers from across the globe converge in the Windy City for the 35th anniversary of Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s international tap dance festival, Rhythm World. Founded by Lane Alexander and Kelly “Ikaika” Michaels in 1990, Rhythm World is now the longest-running tap dance festival in the world and celebrates this year with free performances at the Studebaker Theatre, Jazz Showcase and The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.
For participants, the experience is like entering a tap dance oasis, with classes, workshops and performances by the most respected tap dancers, like Dianne Walker and Sam Weber, who have been mainstays since the inaugural year. CHRP regularly commissions global tap and percussive dance companies—like Sheketak from Israel and Vata Tap from Brazil—to come to the festival, giving local audiences a rare taste of the evolution of tap dance from outside the United States.
Alexander is most proud of the progress he’s witnessed in students throughout the years. “The fact that Jumaane Taylor, who was a scholarship student two and a half decades ago, is now the festival director must be THE highlight,” he says. “The mission to sustain it over time is being accomplished.” Rhythm World runs July 9–20.
For more information, visit chicagotap.org
MAY 16-18, 2025 - MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Opening Night Gala Celebration honoring Mark Kelly and Rie McGarry world premiere of ‘The Sash’ choreographed by Mark Howard, Chelsea Hoy, and Stephanie Martinez
JULY 10-13, 2025 - JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL
six performances at the Ted Shawn Theatre - Becket, MA
FEBRUARY 28, 2026 - AUDITORIUM THEATRE
“A stunning program of groundbreaking dance” -Broadway World
“Where women make the form their own” - Boston Globe
three world premieres by Mark Howard and Chelsea Hoy, Michelle Dorrance, and Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland of BodyVox
th
35 Anniversary Honorary Co-Chairs: Joyce Chelberg, Pamela Crutchfield, Phil and Marsha Dowd
“Irresistible” - Dance Magazine
Photo by Kyle Flubacker
