Chicago's premier magazine for culture and the performing arts
The Joffrey Ballet recently announced the world premiere of Boléro, its first performance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Named after the acclaimed orchestral piece by composer Maurice Ravel and choreographed by Joffrey Company Artist Yoshihisa Arai, the performance will be streamed in one free performance on February 12, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. on the Joffrey’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/TheJoffreyBallet.
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Queen Elizabeth dubbed 1992 “Annus Horribilis” (horrible year) because of the various tumultuous events that had wreaked havoc within her royal family that year. Annus horribilis might also be an accurate description of the year 2020, when a once-in-a-century global pandemic wrought havoc upon our nation’s economy and social distancing mandates forced the closure of most of the nation’s arts and cultural institutions.
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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) continues its 2020-21 43rd season with a virtual premiere presentation of new work from former Hubbard Street dancer and acclaimed choreographer Jonathan Fredrickson, debuting on Thursday, December 3 at hubbardstreetdance.com. The film will be streamed again Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, and has been made free to the public.
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As the effects of the global pandemic have laid economic devastation to so many aspects of American social, economic and culture life, every individual, business, and institution has had to reimagine and reinterpret norms in order to survive. Like other industries that depend upon public attendance and participation, eight months of social distancing, mask mandates, and public gathering limitations have devastated Chicago’s arts venues. Bedrock cultural institutions like the Joffrey Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago have all had to shutter their stages as the pandemic has made enclosed, indoor audience participation all but impossible.
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Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Neal as the organization’s new interim managing director as a part of its 2019 strategic plan facilitated by the Arts and Business Council of Chicago’s Business Volunteers for the Arts program.
Neal first joined CHRP’s board of directors in 2019 and has worked with multiple artists and organizations in various capacities, and consulting businesses of all types for the past 10 years.
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The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater recently announced that its Board of Trustees has appointed Lori Dimun the Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols President and CEO Endowed Chair, effective immediately.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Chairman David Snyder noted, “We are thrilled to have Lori leading the organization during this critical time for the Harris, and for the arts more broadly. We know that her capable leadership, strong relationships in the community, and deep commitment to the Theater’s mission will see us through the challenges of the current moment – and lead us into a bright future.”
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Autumn 2020 brings a new and exciting partnership for Chicago audiences to enjoy when the Joffrey Ballet officially joins forces with the Lyric Opera to share the iconic Lyric Opera House on North Wacker Drive.
The partnership of these two pillars of the Chicago cultural scene has developed over time. First, as an artistic collaboration with 2017’s Orphée et Eurydice, a thrilling piece that blended the musical talents of the Lyric with ballet sequences performed by the Joffrey. During this laudable production, these cherished arts institutions discovered a kind of symbiosis that held the potential for extension beyond a single event.
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The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago has announced their fall programming season, which includes classes, discussion groups, virtual residencies for local artists, and more.
With travel curtailed out of public health concerns, the Dance Center is highlighting Chicago dancers and choreographers with its fall season. Season highlights will be comprised of production residencies, virtual residencies, and programmatic course offerings. In partnership with the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, the Dance Center will provide Chicago luminaries Nejla Yatkin and Jumaane Taylor with support staff and space to develop their respective projects. Yatkin’s project, dance film The Other Witch, will be available to Dance Center patrons and will premiere on Friday, October 23 at 6 p.m. Taylor will perform a work-in-progress showing of Ugly Flavors and The Jazz Hoofing Quartet, which will be livestreamed from the Dance Center on Saturday, November 7 at 7 p.m.
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Red Clay Dance Company (RCDC), a nonprofit dance company that creates and performs a diverse repertoire of Afro-contemporary dance, is stepping up in the fight against the threat of COVID-19 in its community with the Dance Pamoja Challenge, a 12-month project beginning June 1 that focuses on controlling blood pressure, building resilience, and preventing death from COVID-19 among African-American families living on Chicago’s South Side.
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The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University has been awarded a $425,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The five-year grant will help strengthen the theater’s diverse programming, extend community outreach and education efforts, and support restoration and preservation initiatives.
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