Chicago Dancing Festival Releases Schedule for This Year's Celebration

CHICAGO (July 7, 2015) - The Chicago Dancing Festival, the nation's largest dance festival, proudly announces repertoire for its 9th annual series with George Balanchine's Allegro Brilliante(performed by Miami City Ballet in its Chicago Dancing Festival debut), Mark Morris' Sandpaper Ballet (Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 2015 Festival debut), Justin Peck's In Creases (Chicago's The Joffrey Ballet), Gustavo Ramírez Sansano's El Beso (Ballet Hispanico, 2015 Festival debut) and Twyla Tharp's Sweet Fields (Miami City Ballet) among program highlights. This year's event will take place at Chicago's top downtown venues - the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park - August 25-29, 2015.

Co-produced by renowned choreographer Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, Chicago Dancing Festival will also present, for the first time, an entire evening-length program devoted to "Modern Women," featuring works by the pioneers of American modern dance including Isadora Duncan's Valse Brillante (Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company, 2015 Festival debut), Martha Graham's Deep Song (Martha Graham Dance Company) plus programming from contemporary female voices that have followed in their footsteps: Crystal Pite, Pam Tanowitz and Kate Weare. The "Modern Women" program will also feature a special screening of the one-minute film Butterfly Dance by Loie Fullerplus additional historical footage and photos shown throughout the program. Created in 1896, Butterfly Dance is one of the first dance films ever produced and captures Fuller's improvisational dance techniques with swirling movements under layered fabric.

Continuing its tradition of creating new work, the Festival also presents the World Premiere of In The Meantime, a new tap and percussive dance piece by Chicago Human Rhythm Project featuring members of Ensemble Español and Trinity Irish Dance, commissioned just for Chicago Dancing Festival 2015.

All Chicago Dancing Festival programs are free and seating is general admission, but tickets for indoor events must be reserved in advance. Tickets for the Festival will become available to the general public July 9 and 10.

Also unique to this year's program, the Chicago Dancing Festival will present a special one-night-only Gala Benefit performance honoring Festival Founder and Artistic Director Lar Lubovitch, and featuring works choreographed by Lubovitch and others, performed by members of American Ballet Theatre, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Miami City Ballet and The Joffrey Ballet at the Museum of Contemporary Arton Saturday evening, August 28.

Chicago Dancing Festival 2015 Schedule

*Chicago Dancing Festival debut

Tuesday, August 25 - 7:30 p.m.

Harris Theater for Music and Dance at Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Street

Opening Night Celebration

· Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, The Black Rose by Lar Lubovitch

• *Ballet Hispanico, El Beso by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano
• Pam Tanowitz Dance, accompanied by members of the Chicago Philharmonic, Heaven on One's Head by Pam Tanowitz

Wednesday, August 26 - 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago Avenue

Modern Women

· *Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company accompanied by a solo piano, Valse Brillante by Isadora Duncan

• Martha Graham Dance Company, Deep Song by Martha Graham
• *Kate Weare Dance Company, Original piece by Kate Weare
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, A Picture of You Falling by Crystal Pite
• Pam Tanowitz Dance Heaven on One's Head by Pam Tanowitz

Thursday, August 27 -7:30 p.m.

Harris Theater for Music and Dance at Millennium Park, 205 E. Randolph Street

Dancing at the Harris

· Chicago Human Rhythm Project with members of Ensemble Español and Trinity Irish Dance, In the Meantime by Lane Alexander - World Premiere - Commissioned by the Chicago Dancing Festival

• The Joffrey Ballet, Maninyas by Stanton Welch
• *Miami City Ballet, Allegro Brilliante by George Balanchine
• Soloists from American Ballet Theatre, performing a classical pas de deux
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, I am Mister B by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano

Friday, August 28 -- 6:30 p.m. Gala

Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 East Chicago Avenue

An evening of spectacular dance and dinner, featuring pre-show cocktails, a special one-night-only performance by members of American Ballet Theatre, Brian Brooks Moving Company, Miami City Ballet and The Joffrey Ballet featuring choreography by Festival founder Lar Lubovitch and others, followed by a lavish dinner to honor Lar and to support the Chicago Dancing Festival's ongoing mission to present superior dance programming at no cost to its audiences. Tickets for the Gala will go on sale in mid-July with individual tickets starting at $300. Details can be found at the Chicago Dancing Festival's website.

Saturday, August 29 - 7:30 p.m.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph Street

Dancing Under the Stars

• Chicago Human Rhythm Project with members of Ensemble Español and Trinity Irish Dance, In the Meantime by Lane Alexander -Chicago Dancing Festival original commission
• *Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sandpaper Ballet by Mark Morris
• The Joffrey Ballet accompanied by live piano, In Creases by Justin Peck
• Miami City Ballet, Sweet Fields by Twyla Tharp
• Soloists from American Ballet Theatre, performing a classical pas de deux
• Brian Brooks Moving Company, Torrent by Brian Brooks

Tickets

All events are free and seating is general admission, but tickets for indoor events must be reserved in advance through each venue's box office.

Tickets for the August 25 and 27 programs at the Harris Theater will be released at noon on July 9, available in person at the Harris Theater Box Office, 205 E. Randolph Drive, by calling (312) 334-7777 and online at harristheaterchicago.org. Limit two (2) tickets for each of the two (2) performances per patron; tickets ordered by phone and online will be mailed.

Tickets for the August 26 program at the Museum of Contemporary Art will be released at noon on July 10 in person at the MCA Stage Box Office, 220 E. Chicago Avenue, or by calling (312) 397-4010. Limit two (2) tickets per patron; tickets ordered by phone will be mailed.

No tickets are required for the Dancing Under the Stars closing night performance at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on August 29. However, please note that fixed seating at the Pavilion is available on a first-come-first-served basis as well as lawn seating. The Dancing Under the Stars program will also be projected on a video screen visible to lawn patrons.

Due to high demand, patrons may experience delays when securing Chicago Dancing Festival tickets by phone or online. For best availability, please secure Festival tickets in-person at the box office.

Any empty seats or tickets unclaimed at 15 minutes prior to curtain time will be released to those in a Stand-by line. Stand-by lines begin one hour before each performance, in person only.

See full ticketing details at http://www.chicagodancingfestival.com/tickets

About The Chicago Dancing Festival

Established in 2007 by Lar Lubovitch and Jay Franke, the Chicago Dancing Festival presents a wide variety of dance of the highest caliber, enriching the lives of the people of Chicago and providing increased accessibility to the art form, thereby helping create new audiences. Through the combined curatorial expertise of Lubovitch and Franke, the Chicago Dancing Festival - the largest dance festival in the nation - has become synonymous with excellence.

Due to the generosity of the Festival's supporters, Chicago Dancing Festival performances are always free and open to the public. With nearly 82,000 audience members from across Chicago and its surrounding areas having attended a performance during its eight year history, Chicago Dancing Festival has furthered Chicago's reputation, nationally and internationally, as a premiere destination for world-class dance performance.

Over the past eight seasons, the Chicago Dancing Festival has presented more than seventy dance companies at four premier Chicago theaters, including performances from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Martha Graham Dance Company, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Chicago favorites Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and The Joffrey Ballet. Beyond world-class performances, the Festival has an ongoing mission to not only present but create new work, with seven world premieres throughout its history by Kyle Abraham, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Alexander Ekman, Ron de Jesus and more commissioned just for Chicago Dancing Festival.

Lar Lubovitch (Founder, Artistic Director) is one of America's most versatile and highly acclaimed choreographers and founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 46 years ago. In the years since, he has choreographed more than 100 dances for his New York-based company, which has performed in nearly all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 foreign countries. Born in Chicago, Lubovitch was educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York.

Jay Franke (Founder, Artistic Director) began his formal training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. In 1993, he was selected as a Finalist for the Presidential Scholar in the Arts and accepted into the Juilliard School. Upon receiving his BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School, Franke went to work with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, "THARP!". Franke has since danced with The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and was a leading dancer in the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 2005 to 2010.

For more information regarding Chicago Dancing Festival tickets and performance schedules, please visitwww.chicagodancingfestival.com.

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