South Chicago Dance Theatre To Perform At The Auditorium In May
Dynamic contemporary dance company to honor beloved Chicago choreographer & director Frank Chaves with its Cultural Hero Award.
By: A.A. Cristi Mar. 26, 2025
The Auditorium will welcome back the eclectic energy of hometown favorite South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) with IN/WITHIN, a mixed repertory program in one performance only Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 PM.
In addition to debuting two World Premieres – IN/WITHIN, a wildly theatrical one-act production choreographed by SCDT Founder & Director of Vision and Strategy Kia S. Smith, and FOLK, by New York-based Guggenheim Award-winning choreographer Kate Weare – the veteran choreographer and former longtime Artistic Director of River North Dance Company, Frank Chaves, will be honored with SCDT's 5th Cultural Hero Award. IN/WITHIN tickets, starting at $39.00, are available at auditoriumtheatre.org or by calling The Auditorium's Ticket Service Center at 312.341.2300.
Beginning the evening on a joyous note, choreographer Frank Chaves will be honored with South Chicago Dance Theatre's 5th Cultural Hero Award, paying tribute to a member of the Chicago dance community who has made an invaluable impact on our city. Chaves served as Artistic Director of River North Dance Chicago for 23 years, before officially retiring in December 2015. Having produced more than 20 original works for the company, he is concentrating solely on his choreography, creating new works and finding new homes for his existing body of work. Chaves currently resides in Sarasota, Florida where he has been dealing with a degenerative spinal cord disease, syringomyelia, diagnosed over ten years ago. As a Cultural Hero, Chaves joins past awardees August Tye (2018), Pierre Lockett (2019), Millie Cruzat (2021), and Sarita Smith Childs (2022).
The Company Premiere of Chaves' Temporal Trance (1998) starts the IN/WITHIN program. He has referred to this signature work for River North Dance Chicago as an “exploration of three very different qualities of movement, culminating in a mesmerizing feast for the eyes, soul and spirit.” Temporal Trance features a soundtrack by Peter Gabriel, Vangelis, and Gabrielle Roth and The Mirrors, and is dedicated to Chaves' mother, Maria. Following is the World Premiere of Weare's FOLK (2025), exploring the idea of “village” as a space where we commune together, despite differences and difficulties, all set to a score drawing from traditional Jewish and Italian music. Closing the first act will be the SCDT audience hit, Taiwanese choreographer Tsai His Hung's Under the Skin (2024), in which dancers move from darkness to light, to an experimental score by Taiwanese musician Yi Chun Hung. The second half of the program is comprised of Smith's IN/WITHIN, a one-act World Premiere fusing athleticism, dialogue and scenic design that promises to be unlike any other SCDT piece! IN/WITHIN, a work of contemporary dance theater, delves into the imaginary landscape of the lead performer as she ventures through the characters, objects and ephemera of her subconscious mind. Irrationally juxtaposed scenes spark joy and delight, absurdity, melancholy, empathy and actualization.
“The Auditorium is pleased to again showcase South Chicago Dance Theatre in its third annual Spring engagement. Kia is a rising star on Chicago's dance scene and audiences can always expect high energy and enthusiasm from her company,” said The Auditorium CEO Rich Regan. “River North Dance, under Frank Chaves' direction, was a frequent guest on our stage, and we look forward to welcoming him home for this well-deserved honor.”
“This program is especially meaningful to me,” said Smith. “I fell in love with Frank's Temporal Trance as a college dance student, and it's a milestone for my company to now add it to our repertoire. Kate Weare is a mentor with a global presence, and I'm so honored that she has set FOLK on our company. The juxtaposition of this work and Tsai His Hung's experimental crowd pleaser Under the Skin, should keep audiences on their toes. And finally, IN/WITHIN, my first theatrical work, represents me and my voice more than any other work I've choreographed. I envision this is the start of a new era for South Chicago Dance Theatre, with an emphasis on ‘theatre' and a more narrative-driven model.”
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