Thodos Dance Chicago Presents Ann Reinking's FOSSE TRILOGY, 11/13 & 11/28

Thodos Dance Chicago's Fall Concert 2009, featuring the company's premiere of Fosse Trilogy set by legendary Broadway and film veteran Ann Reinking, will be presented in two performances: Friday November 13, 2009 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, Skokie and Saturday, November 28 at Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago.

Reinking will collaborate with Thodos Dance Chicago to reconstruct a trio of short dances by the legendary Bob Fosse - Cool Hand Luke, Mexican Breakfast, and Tijuana Shuffle - two of which have never been performed on the live stage, and set the works with world premiere transition choreography.

Founder and artistic director Melissa Thodos said, "We are so honored to welcome Ann Reinking back for her third engagement with Thodos Dance Chicago to set these important works."

The program also boasts the Chicago premiere of Melissa Thodos' Driven as well as company premieres of three dances from Thodos Dance Chicago's acclaimed New Dances 2009 choreography performance series: Awakening, set to the music of Philip Glass, by Wade Schaaf; Architecture: Splintered and Cracked by award winning choreographer Jessica Miller Tomlinson; and Reflect, a collaborative work by Mollie Mock and Jeremy Blair, set to an original score by TDC's resident composer John Nevin.

The concert also features reprises of audience favorites: Nine by Brock Clawson, and Departurepoint by Ron De Jesús.

The first performance is Friday, November 13 at 8 pm at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 North Skokie Boulevard, Skokie. Tickets are $38. Purchase tickets via phone at 847-673-6300, or online at www.northshorecenter.org 

Thodos Dance Chicago will reprise its Fall Concert Saturday, November 28 at 8 pm at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Drive, Chicago - marking the company's solo debut in downtown Chicago's premiere dance venue. Tickets are $60; $45 for seniors; $25 for students. Purchase tickets via phone at 312-334-7777, or online at www.harristheaterchicago.org

This project is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius. Additional funding to support the project to re-stage the works of choreographer Bob Fosse has been made available through a generous grant from The Saints, Volunteers for the Performing Arts.

"Breathtakingly athletic," "fiercely complex," "powerfully beautiful," performing "vibrant choreography" are but a few of the critical accolades that Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC) has received over the past 17 years. This ensemble of well-rounded artists who teach, choreograph and perform brings contemporary dance to a wider audience with an appealing unique style that incorporates a variety of dance forms created and performed with innovative flair. TDC was founded in 1992 as "Melissa Thodos and Dancers" by Melissa Thodos, an Evanston native. The Company officially became known as Thodos Dance Chicago in 2005, reflecting a move toward a broader American repertory. TDC's mission of inspiring expression through dance education, dance creation, and dance performance is the essence of the unique, compelling environment created for its ensemble members. TDC is in residence at the Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls where it administers the children's dance curriculum and teaches adult classes through partnership with the Chicago Sport and Social Club. Thodos Dance Chicago has most recently performed in St. Louis' Spring to Dance Festival, the Busan International Dance Festival in South Korea, and at Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Mass.

Founder and Artistic Director, Melissa Thodos has been choreographing dance for over 25 years. Her works have been presented across America, as well as in Paris on numerous occasions, Edinburgh, and in Australia and Turkey. She is the founder and artistic director of Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC), a seventeen year old contemporary dance company with a unique three tiered mission of inspiring expression through dance education, dance creation and dance performance. TDC performs Melissa's dances and those of Company members, as well as works by such acclaimed choreographers as Tony Award-winning Ann Reinking, Lar Lubovitch, Shapiro & Smith, Ron De Jesus, and Amy Ernst. Melissa's work has received nominations for the Ruth Page Award and the Chicago Dance Achievement Award. She was honored by the State of Illinois as a Greek American for nurturing and training dancers and choreographers in Chicago. Her work Reaching There won her international acclaim at the 3rd Concours Internationale de Dance de Paris. Her recent work, Anasa, was awarded Second Prize in 11th Annual Dance under the Stars Choreography Festival in Palm Desert California, one of the leading competitions for dance choreography in the United States.

A Broadway and film veteran, Reinking won a Tony Award for best Choreography for the Broadway revival of the Bob Fosse musical Chicago in 1997, and has been nominated as Best Actress (Goodtime Charley, 1975), Best Featured Actress (Dancin', 1978) and Best Director (Fosse, 1999). Her work on Chicago has also honored her with the 1996 L.A. Drama Critic's Award, the 1997 Drama Desk Award and Outer Critic's Circle Award, as well as the Astaire Award. Her previous work in the city of Chicago include the world premieres of CAUTION: Side Effects in 2004 and Rossini Recess - What Dancers Would Do If They Still Could Go Out and Play in 2007, both for Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC), as well as choreographer of Pal Joey at the Goodman Theatre in 1988 and 2001's Kander & Ebb premiere of The Visit, also at the Goodman. The Visit was revived again in the spring of 2009 at the Signature Theatre in Washington, DC.

Bob Fosse, a native Chicagoan, was born June 23, 1927. His visionary choreography changed the course of Broadway dance with his provocative, sexy vocabulary. Following a notable career as a dancer, Mr. Fosse went on to win an Academy Award in 1973 for directing the movie Cabaret (which also won a best actress Oscar for Liza Minnelli), three Emmy awards for directing, producing and choreographing Minelli's TV special Liza With a Z, and two Tony Awards for directing and choreographing the Broadway show Pippin. Fosse's other hit Broadway shows include Sweet Charity (1965), Chicago (1975) and Dancin' (1978). Fosse's life is capsulated in the semi-autobiographical movie All That Jazz (1979). A 1998 revue, Fosse, collected his most famous dance works into one show for which Ann Reinking won a Tony nomination as Best Director. Fosse died in 1987 during the run of a revival of his 1965 show Sweet Charity. 

 

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