DanceWorks Chicago Celebrates 5th Anniversary Season

DanceWorks Chicago (DWC) welcomes new dancers to the company to start its 5th anniversary season which will feature new work and civic collaborations.

New dancers joining DWC this season are Angela Dice (Somerset, PA, former dancer with August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble), Björn Helget (Dresden, Germany, former dancer with Gauthier Dance), Demetrius McClendon (Chicago, IL, BFA candidate Northern Illinois University), and Keon Nickie (Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago, former dancer with Deeply Rooted 2). Fulfilling our mission to graduate dancers into the broader dance community, DWC alumni are now with Cirque du Soleil's LOVE (James Johnson), Stiletto Entertainment (Louis Jackson), and Luna Negra Dance Theater (Joseph Kudra). DWC alum Amber Jackson is making a career transition and is a reading specialist at a CPS elementary school.

Following DWC's 4th season which featured the male choreographic voice, the 2011-2012 season will highlight female choreographers creating new work for DWC including Dutch choreographer Nelly van Bommel (Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch in 2010), who will create a piece as part of a DWC residency at Western Michigan University in October 2011; Autumn Eckman (Artistic Associate, Director Giordano II), who will build on a material created during a DWC workshop; and Monique Haley (formerly with River North Dance Chicago), who will create a new work in spring 2012.

DWC embraces two significant civic collaborations this season. First, Magical Movements, a collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with choreography by German dance maker Christian Spuck, will be presented to school children in two performances on Friday, November 4, 2011 and in two public performances on Saturday, November 5, 2011. All performances will take place at Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Second, shared performances with Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago will be held at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie. A lunchtime performance at noon on Friday, May 10 and 2pm family matinee and 8pm evening performance on Saturday, May 11 will usher in Mother's Day. These performances have been funded in part by Met Life's New Stages for Dance initiative, administered by Dance/USA through Audience Architects.

DWC continues its menu of offerings including Dance Bytes, free and informal showing of work:
Friday, September 30, 12:30pm-1:30pm
Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago
Studio showing of excerpts from Magical Movements
Wednesday, October 5, 12:15pm-1:15pm
Harold Washington Library Auditorium, 400 S. State, Chicago
Performance of DWC repertoire followed by a Meet the Artist session with DWC dancers
Dance Chance, designed to encourage new work and dialogue between artists and audience, will be held at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago, at 6pm on Monday, September 12; Monday, October 3; and Tuesday, November 8. Tickets: $3. Dance Chance: Redux 3.0, an opportunity for selected choreographers to further explore and develop work, will be held at Northeastern Illinois University at 8pm on Friday, October 7. Tickets: $20, with special prices for students, seniors, and groups.
DWC will offer Dance Flight, a mini-performance featuring a preview of Nelly van Bommel's new work, in its home at the Ruth Page Center, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago, from 6pm-7pm on Saturday, November 5. Dance Flight will be followed by a Meet the Artist session with DWC dancers. Tickets: $10
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 Böttcher, DanceWorks Chicago is dedicated to creating an environment conducive to nurturing experiences of significance for everyone from artists to audiences. To learn more about DanceWorks Chicago, visit www.danceworkschicago.org.

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