Chicago Human Rhythm Project to Mark Return to the Dance Center with World Premiere

After a 10-plus-year absence, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) opens the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago's 2017-18 season with a program assembled by Founder and Director Lane Alexander and CHRP Artist In Residence Dani Borak. Performances are September 21-23 at the Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

The program features an eclectic collection of works, including the first part of a world-premiere conceptual work by Borak melding contemporary and urban dance with American foot drumming. Also on the program are MacArthur Fellowship ("Genius") winner Michelle Dorrance's Push Past Break, a work blending two iconic American art forms, the blues and tap dance, that she created for CHRP with support from the Princess Grace Foundation and the Auditorium Theater's Movement + Movement Festival; one of Alexander's signature works, Prisms, which explores psychological disintegration and healing; as well as a medley of classic dances created by African-American tap masters Buster Brown, Lon Chaney and Harold "Stumpy" Cromer. Special guest Earlynn Whitehead will appear with her ensemble to reprise a work, created with funding from CHRP, that premiered earlier this year at Dovetail Studios.

"We're thrilled to return to the Dance Center, which was instrumental in helping us launch our strategy of bringing programs to multiple venues throughout Chicago more than 15 years ago," said Alexander. "This engagement marks another inflection point for CHRP and the beginning of a new direction with Dani making new works and building a new ensemble to refresh and reimagine existing repertory. At the same time, it is a continuation of our tradition of inviting guest artists to be a part of our programs to give the audience a view into the extraordinary richness of contemporary rhythmic expression."

"It's a huge honor for me to be CHRP's new Artist In Residence for the next three years," Borak commented. "You can't imagine how much it means to me. I'm looking forward to teaching, choreographing and performing--and even directing and producing a little. Chicago and all its dancers have given me so much in the past, so I will try my best now to give something back."

Chicago Human Rhythm Project performs September 21-23, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Full-price tickets are $30; groups of 10 or more receive a 25 percent discount. All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. For tickets, call 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenterpresents. For information, visit chicagotap.org.

Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) creates community through American tap and contemporary percussive arts in world-class, innovative performance, education and outreach programs. Believing tap is to dance what jazz is to music-an American contribution to global culture-CHRP has been presenting American tap and global percussive dance for almost 30 years, evolving from a summer tap festival into the world's first, year-round presenter dedicated to foot-drumming and contemporary rhythmic expression. Central to CHRP's performance, education and community activating programs is its mission to build bridges between individuals and communities through the practice and appreciation of rhythm. Whether as part of the oldest and largest tap festival on the globe, Rhythm World; the collaborative citywide percussive dance festival, STOMPING GROUNDS; year-round education programs in Chicago Public Schools, We All Got Rhythm; or its shared dance/arts incubator, the American Rhythm Center (ARC), CHRP focuses on artistic excellence, innovation, authentic diversity and cultural pluralism. CHRP received an Emmy nomination for its PBS-ITVS documentary JUBA! Master of Tap and Percussive Dance; curated the first-ever full-length tap concert in a major theater at the Kennedy Center; has officially represented the U.S. in dance festivals in South America, Asia and Europe; and has been lauded as a pioneer in the field by the New York Times. Past students receiving great acclaim include, among many others, MacArthur "Genius" Michelle Dorrance, Broadway hoofers Karissa Royster and Lee Howard and Jazz at Lincoln Center soloist Jared Grimes. For information, visit chicagotap.org.

Pictured: Time Brickey, Nico Rubio, Star Dixon, Tristan Bruns, Donnetta Jackson, Jessica Tenbusch; photo by Philamonjaro.

To post a comment, you must register and login.