DANCE CHANCE Moves to Hubbard Street Dance Center, Beg. Tonight

Beginning tonight, January 31, 2014, DanceWorks Chicago's monthly program Dance Chance has a new home at the Lou Conte Dance Studio in the Hubbard Street Dance Center, 1147 West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago's West Loop. Launched in March 2008 with prior venue the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Dance Chance has encouraged dialogue between artists and audiences, and prompted the creation of more than 100 original works in diverse forms and techniques.

Repeating the last Friday of each month from 7-8pm, each one-hour Dance Chance showcases three 15-minute pieces by local choreographers, followed by discussion and audience response, led by a guest moderator. At the conclusion of each event, the next month's three choreographers are chosen randomly from names submitted by choreographers in attendance. There are no fees or prerequisites to enter the drawings.

"The Hubbard Street Dance Center is a place where new choreography is constantly being made, by dancers from so many different disciplines," says Lou Conte Dance Studio director Claire Bataille, also a founding member of the Center's world-renowned resident company. "It makes perfect sense for Dance Chance to move into our facility. I look forward to watching this program continue to build community and creative exchange among the talented and unique artists we have here in Chicago."

Says DanceWorks Chicago Artistic Director Julie Nakagawa, "DanceWorks Chicago started Dance Chance to encourage creativity and a sense of adventure in artists and audiences, and bring communities together to learn more about one another. DanceWorks is grateful for the program's five-year run at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts and we're honored to be invited to continue at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, a successful example of homegrown talent and, as such, a fitting partner for Dance Chance. DanceWorks is excited about this new partnership and we look forward to continuing to support local artists and audiences."

Guest moderator and Hubbard Street Dancer Jacqueline Burnett will host the January 31 event featuring J. Lindsay Brown, Katie Graves and Patrick Ingram, chosen from a "virtual Dance Chance" held online December 30 at facebook.com/choreographers. A raffle kicking off this new, six-month trial partnership will be held at the Center, for prizes including a T-shirt and a ten-class card for the Lou Conte Dance Studio's Winter Session.

Admission to Dance Chance is $3 cash, to which attendees are welcome to add a donation. The Hubbard Street Dance Center is easily accessible via the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), the CTA Blue Line (Forest Park branch to Racine) and numerous bus routes including 7 Harrison, 9 Ashland, 20 Madison, 60 Blue Island and 126 Jackson.

About DanceWorks Chicago: Founded in May 2007, DanceWorks Chicago is an organization committed to building a foundation for the individual artistic growth of dancers and choreographers, providing a laboratory from which early career artists propel themselves and the art form to a new level through training, collaboration, mentorship, and performance. Led by Artistic Director Julie Nakagawa and CEO Andreas Bo?ttcher, DanceWorks Chicago is dedicated to creating an environment conducive to nurturing experiences of significance for everyone from artists to audiences. Visit www.danceworkschicago.org and www.facebook.com/DanceWorksChicago to learn more.

About Hubbard Street: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic leadership of Glenn Edgerton, celebrates its 36th season in 2013 and 2014. Among the world's top contemporary dance companies and a global cultural ambassador, Hubbard Street demonstrates fluency in a wide range of techniques and forms, and deep comprehension of abstract artistry and emotional nuance. The company is critically acclaimed for its exuberant and innovative repertoire, featuring works by master American and international choreographers. Hubbard Street's artists hail from four countries and 12 U.S. states, and comprise a superlative ensemble of virtuosity and versatility.

Since its founding by Lou Conte in 1977, Hubbard Street has grown through the establishment of multiple platforms. Each is dedicated to the support and advancement of dance as an art form, as a practice, and as a method for generating and sustaining communities of all kinds.

Hubbard Street 2, directed by Terence Marling, cultivates young professional dancers, identifies next-generation choreographers, and performs domestically and abroad, in service of arts education, collaboration, experimentation and audience development.

Extensive Youth, Education and Community Programs, directed by Kathryn Humphreys, are models in the field of arts education, linking the performing company's creative mission to the lives of students and families. Hubbard Street also initiated the first dance-based program in the Midwest to help alleviate suffering caused by Parkinson's disease. Youth Dance Program classes at the Hubbard Street Dance Center include Creative Movement and progressive study of technique, open to young dancers ages 18 months to 16 years.

At the Lou Conte Dance Studio, directed by founding Hubbard Street Dancer Claire Bataille, workshops and master classes allow access to expertise, while a broad variety of weekly classes offer training at all levels in jazz, ballet, modern, tap, African, hip-hop, yoga, Pilates® and Zumba®.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is located at 1147 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois. Call 312-850-9744 or visit hubbardstreetdance.com for more information.

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