Dance for Life Perfromers

DanceWorks Chicago performs the Chicago premiere of Charissa-Lee Barton’s Mutter Matters, which explores how physical expression can sometimes be a more direct, playful, and meaningful form of communication, whether or not we are six feet apart. The work is set to music performed by the Oscar Peterson Trio and composed by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Clark Terry, who joins the Trio for his piece.

(Vin Reed photo)

Movement Revolution Dance Crew performs Dedicated to the Originators, choreographed by Monternez Rezell, a tribute, a dedication, and a look back to the young Black people who created the culture of Hip Hop. The work is set to music by Tech N9ne and Afrika Bambaataa.

(Keith Sunahara photo)

Giordano Dance Chicago performs Take A Gambol, choreographed by Joshua Blake Carter. Set to a score of 1960s jazz classics by Yazz Ahmed, Maynard Ferguson, Perry Como, Mose Allison, and Quincy Jones, this work has been completely reworked for Dance for Life from its original eight dancers in 2018 to include, for the first time, the entire ensemble of 13 dancers.

(courtesy photo)

The Joffrey Ballet performs Justin Peck’s The Times Are Racing, a “sneaker ballet” for 20 dancers that channels the power of protest and draws inspiration from a variety of dance styles while matching Dan Deacon’s electronic score with youthful impulse and vigor.

(Cheryl Mann photo)

PARA.MAR Dance Theatre performs kiss., choreographed by Stephanie Martinez and set to Johann Sebastian Bach, in which the dancers take the perilous journey we all take to find and sustain intimacy—often only felt for a moment, before sliding back into obscurity.

(Michelle Reid photo)

Winifred Haun & Dancers presents an excerpt from its film Press on, regardless, choreographed and directed by Winifred Haun with music by Michael Wall and videography by Sean Rafferty. The duet, like the entire film, is abstract and includes inverted movements that are floating and somewhat disorienting; the duet resolves into a calming “aha” moment.

Trinity Irish Dance Company performs Push, choreographed by Mark Howard with contributing choreography by Andrew Vickers, an explosion of hard-driving percussive power that exemplifies the company’s consistent message of female empowerment. Performing the music is the Trinity Irish Dance Company band: Brendan O’Shea, Christopher Devlin, Jake James, and Steven Rutledge.

(Lois Greenfield photo)

Visceral Dance Chicago performs Nick Pupillo’s Synapse, a responsive interaction of music and dance in which electrical energy joins the driving house beat of Chicago composer Darryl Hoffman's work with Visceral’s technicality and provocativeness.

(Michelle Reid photo)

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performs This, That, and the Third by Rena Butler, a multifaceted viewpoint of codeswitching as a means of either sterilizing oneself or maintaining the ability to adhere and adapt to an evolving space, posing questions of universality and how to build a multilingual and progressive future. The soundtrack includes music from the film Whiplash by Justin Hurwitz, music by Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo, and text excerpts in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, and English.

Randy Duncan is creating a finale, using dancers from throughout the Chicago area, with original music by Ira Antelis.

South Chicago Dance Theatre performs an excerpt from Architect of a Dream, choreographed by Kia S. Smith to music by Solomon Ilori, which memorializes the legendary Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream” speech and aims to be a symbol of hope for audiences during this time of sociopolitical turbulence.

(Michelle Reid photo)