Dance for Life

by Suzanne Hanney

Since 1992, Dance for Life has been Chicago’s unique response to crisis – first AIDS and now COVID-19 –so its 30th anniversary celebration at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park will be an opportunity “to heal, unify and inspire.” For the first time in its history, the event featuring diverse Chicago dance companies will also be free to the public.

Dance for Life is the primary fundraiser for Chicago Dancers United, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that provides grants of up to $4,000 to dancers in a health crisis. While nationally there are organizations that provide information resources to performers or that raise funds for nonprofits that assist them, Chicago Dancers United is special because it assists the individuals themselves.

“The pandemic had a huge effect on the needs of the community,” said Sandi Cooksey, a Chicago Dancers United board member, a former dancer and now a respiratory therapist. “Requests were up significantly in 2020; we funded 111 percent more individuals than in 2019.”

When the pandemic lockdown began in March 2020, live dance performances were largely canceled, although some went online – many of them free to the public. “There was a huge deficit in earning in 2020,” Cooksey said. Some dancers earned nothing at all and some earned far less than before.

“What was striking to me was some of the thank-you notes we received. ‘It’s fantastic news for me and my husband. I can’t tell you how much relief. It brought tears to my eyes that I can pay this bill,’” Cooksey said. “The pandemic made it clear we had to change our service to the community. We did that through this relief grant.”

The original grant from The Dancers’ Fund covers up to $4,000 in medical treatment costs. It has also paid rent, utilities and basic living expenses if a short-term health crisis has depleted someone’s finances.

The new relief grant of $500 can cover medical care, mental wellness, dental and laboratory fees, vaccines, co-pays, deductibles, insurance – anything related to health and wellness. It can be used once a year. The Chicago Dancers Fund United board wanted to promote health and wellness rather than just crisis management, Cooksey said.

“We are still here if there is a crisis but we would rather work on our vision, which is a healthy and thriving dance community,” she said.

The set amount of money was allocated into the relief grant in 2020 and this year, the board decided to rename it a “general health and wellness grant” and to make it permanent.

“I think this is a way to serve a community that traditionally does not have the best health insurance -- or any insurance coverage,” she said.

Although larger dance companies typically offer health insurance, Chicago also has a lot of independent dance artists, choreographers and associated personnel who have to find their own insurance in the marketplace, Cooksey said.

“I did that between jobs and while going back to school. The marketplace is challenging. If you want really good coverage, you have to pay a lot for it. The dance community tends to get what they can afford, which does not cover a lot. [The Dancers’ Fund] end[s] up being supplemental. If your insurance will only cover 50 percent of that medical bill, you’re still stuck with 50 percent. Or maybe you have to see a specialty provider. Your copay jumps from $20 to $75. Even that can be a challenge.”

Individuals often say on their grant application and statement of need that they have insurance, but the bills are still too burdensome for them. “Not too different from much of America, but we know that this is happening within this community that we are very much trying to support. If we are going to have a healthy and thriving dance community, we need to support them.”

Grants can also go to behind-the-scenes staff: choreographers, music accompanists, designers, wardrobe personnel, administrators – and to retirees.

Cooksey was a dancer from 1984 to 2003 with Twyla Tharp Dance Chicago, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, where she ended up as rehearsal director. Dance is as much athletics as it is art, so few people have the luxury of dancing at the same level from youth into middle age. They must instead come to terms with moving into another profession, she said. In her case, it was medical device sales. Later, she wanted something more meaningful, with bedside contact. Having been susceptible to bronchitis in her youth, she had an appreciation for athletes who were suffering, and so respiratory therapy beckoned.

Although Cooksey has never used The Dancers’ Fund herself, she says of retirees, “If an individual can show us they did indeed spend a lot of their career in Chicago and are in some kind of need relative to a medical problem, we will support them. They gave to this community and we will give back.”

Dance for Life started in the same spirit during the AIDS crisis in 1991. So many of his friends were dying every day that Keith Elliott, a member of Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre (JHCDT), wanted to take action. Dancing was what he routinely did, so what came to mind was bringing the community together for a one-night performance “to Dance for Life.”

Elliott joined with Todd Kiech; JHCDT Associate Artistic Director Harriet Ross as a creative force; HIV/AIDS activist and fundraiser Danny Kopelson and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Executive Director Gail Kalver as co-founders.

The inaugural Dance for Life sold out at the Organic Theater in June 1992 and then in later years at the Athenaeum Theatre, the Skyline Stage at Navy Pier, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and the Auditorium Theatre. Over its 30-year history, more than 40 Chicago dance companies have performed at the annual benefits, which have raised $6 million for the local dance community.

Cooksey quotes the Chicago Dancers United website when she says the board hopes the August 26 event at the Pritzker Pavilion will “heal, unify and inspire.” Since last year’s event was virtual, the board wanted to go live this year, but early in the planning stages, board members had no idea what would be happening with COVID. An outdoor performance made the most sense.

There is still a $212,000 fundraising goal, facilitated by donations of $300 or more for seats closer to the stage. An August 19 reception is a further incentive.

But a larger portion of the seating is free to the public.

“We’re really excited about opening this up,” Cooksey said. “Never has Dance for Life been available at no cost. It serves both purposes: it is a fundraiser, and we can include a greater part of the Chicago community at no cost. The lineup of companies this year is tremendous. It runs the spectrum of dance. To share that with people who are supporting The Dancers’ Fund as well as the public at large is a tremendous offering.”

Dance for Life is Thursday, August 26 at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Gates open at 5 p.m. and the performance is 6-8:15 p.m. The performance is FREE to the public for the first time in its history with seating on the lawn and bowl of the Pavilion, but donations of $300 or more will guarantee seating closer to the stage. More information at: chicagodancersunited.org/dance-for-life

Information about The Dancers’ Fund and a link to apply for grants are available at chicagodancersunited.org/the-dancers-fund

"Thanks to the innovation of our artistic leadership and dancers, we made the best of the devastating impact of the pandemic. We were able to keep our dancers employed, hone their craft through remote class and rehearsals and, most impressively, create a series of powerful new works that were presented to a virtual audience," said David McDermott, Executive Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago .

"Perhaps the most exciting part was that, thanks to the support of our donors, we make access to the films and remote classes totally free, ensuring that dance lovers not just in Chicago, but across the world, had access to our programming. This was particularly important in a time when so many were feeling so alone and isolated, and many of our company, friends and supporters felt our offerings were crucial to their feeling as though they were still connected to the community they so value."