Categories: Chicago Dance

Chicago Dance: Contemporary

Author: Sarah DiGiulio

Contemporary is the word Chicago dancers use to designate choreography that tries something new. It is the style of dance that has grown in Chicago to include several new companies in the past decade.

Rather than describe a style of dance, the word signals audiences to expect the unexpected. From poetic interpretation to using large-scale props on stage, contemporary dance explores new movement and new ways of presenting movement.

Within the past eight years Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has morphed from a center of jazz dance in Chicago to a hotspot of contemporary movement. Most Hubbard Street dancers come from ballet backgrounds. But, on the stage, they perform provocative, but fun dance that defies categories--using choreographers from around the world and music from all eras (straight back to the classical variety, including Mozart and Bach).

The company performs four major concerts each year at the Harris Theater in Millenium Park, one for each season. They can also be seen several other times throughout the year at collaborative and smaller performances. If audiences want something brand new, the spring choreographic workshop is where the company members choreograph original works and present their pieces at the end of the week for the public to see.

For bold movement, Thodos Dance Chicago entertains audiences hungry for dance that's strong and unexpected. The company's choreography is athletic and complex--artistic director Melissa Thodos's gymnastic background makes for lots of exciting movement on stage. "Our dancers are as happy dancing upside-down as right-side-up," Thodos says.

The company also uses large-scale props to make pieces interesting and unique. They dance to all types of music: a lot of original compositions, classical music, and rock'n'roll.

The best time to see Thodos Dance Chicago is at their main stage performances which happen twice each year: October and March. The company also tours throughout the year and appears at several other local performances. And for the company's most experimental work, do not miss New Dances, the company's annual performance in July. The show features new choreography by company members performed by the company and community dancers cast specifically for the show.

Mordine and Company Dance Theater mixes a musical theater background with contemporary dance training. Artistic director Shirley Mordine experiments with live music on stage and a visual designer to set the stage for some of her performances. Performance is about "whatever is physically on stage," says Mordine.

Mordine loves to make her work unique by choreographing site-specific work. She has put a cellist on stage and has used visual image projection as part of her dance. But, most important, she keeps it personal. Dance is about the relationships between the bodies on stage. Dance has the ability to deal with large ideas, she says. "It is intellectually interesting."

The company hosts two major performances each year, one in the fall and one in the spring. The company also appears in several local performances throughout the year in the Chicago-land area.

The Chicago Moving Company, after 35 years in the city, continues to create innovative dance. Critics have called the company's movements "bold and gutsy." Artistic director, Nana Shineflug, influenced by her interest in mathematics, cosmology and the Far East, creates her own invigorating style of moving.

The company hosts the Other Dance Festival each fall to present new dance artists to Chicago. The festival, at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, lasts two weeks and features five to six new artists each week. The company hosts summer intensive workshops each summer in technique and choreography, open to dancers of all experience levels.

The umbrella of contemporary dance goes on to push the envelope in the world of dance. AMEBA Acrobatic and Aerial Dance, founded in 1999 uses acrobatics and contemporary dance technique. Chicago Dance Crash, founded in 2002, dances everything from breakdance to capoeira to ballet. Their slogan reads "no apologies dance and choreography." Chicago Danztheatre Project, seven years old, uses dance to interpret classical literature. DanceWorks Chicago, one of Chicago's newer contemporary companies, hosts Dance Chance each month at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Each show is an hour-long performance of the work of three choreographers selected by chance.

Other contemporary companies to check out include The Dance COLEctive, Hedwig Dances, DanszLoop Chicago, and Matter Dance Company. The list of contemporary companies goes on and on. 

Check out places of interest near Chicago Dance: Contemporary:

Chicago Dance
415 W. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60654

This general purpose Chicago dance school takes beginners and turns them into competent foxtrotters, waltzers, etc. Classes are fun to take and instructors are open and easy.

Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater
5500 N. St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625

Get ready for some Spanish flair in Chicago. From folk dancing to flamenco, Ensemble Espanol presents traditional Spanish dance.

Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago
614 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201

Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago is one of Chicago's first jazz companies. Performances include the newest in jazz dance.

Luna Negra Dance Theater
1016 N Dearborn Pkwy., Chicago, IL 60610

Chicago's Luna Negra Dance Theater creates, performs and teaches contemporary dancy by Latino choreographers.

Mordine & Company Dance Theater
1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60610

Mordine & Company Dance Theater is one of Chicago's oldest contemporary dance companies--they have been on the Chicago dance scene for almost 40 years. But, their dance is fresh and moving forward.

Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago
7127 South Ellis Avenue, Suite 2, Chicago, IL 60619

For all types of African dance, see Chicago's Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago. From ancient tribal dance to new interpretations of African classics, this company is both cultural and energetic. 

River North Chicago Dance Company
1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60610

River North Chicago Dance Company is Chicago jazz dance. It's fresh, but still has the energy and entertainment that defines jazz dance. 

Thodos Dance Chicago
811 West Evergreen, Suite 301, Chicago, IL 60622

This contemporary Chicago dance company promises bold movement with every performance. Their style is exciting and unique.