Best bets
Fall is not traditionally Chicago’s busiest dance season, but that has been changing of late, and this year proves no exception, with important attractions looming both downtown and in the off-Loop. Here are a few of the more tantalizing offerings:
– The Auditorium Theatre. There are three big engagements here this fall, beginning Sept. 26-28 with Amalia Hernandez’s Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, in the troupe’s 45th-anniversary tour. Some 65 dancers make up the troupe, while Hernandez has been called Latin America’s most important choreographer.
A dozen dancers billed as “Stars of the Kirov Ballet” will bring a selection of excerpts from major classics Oct. 11 and 12. But the biggest event is admittedly something of a rerun, though a downtown debut: “Riverdance–The Show” returns, bringing its blend of multi-ethnic dance and music, backed by an inimitable Celtic rock band, Oct. 16-Dec. 7–both a romp through folk dance tradition and a feverish, foot-tapping extravaganza.
– The Athenaeum Theatre. Arguably the city’s most interesting and varied annual dance fest, Dance Chicago ’97, the third installment at the North Side Athenaeum, returns with a massive lineup.
Opening night Oct. 22 is a mouthful all by itself: Bob Eisen, Deeply Rooted Productions, hip hop artist Elaine McLaurin, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Jellyeye Drum Theatre (with Redmoon Theater), the Joel Hall Dancers, a new duet by choreographer Randy Duncan, River North Dance Company, Steppin’ Out and Trinity Irish Dance Company.
The fest runs through Nov. 30 and features more than 300 artists.
– DanceAfrica 97. The annual DanceAfrica festival, presented by the Dance Center of Columbia College at the Medinah Temple, has become one of the year’s best-attended and most passionately embraced dance programs. This year should be no exception, with a focus on Caribbean influences and visits from Garth Fagan Dance and Marie Brooks Pan-Caribbean Dancers. Performances run Oct. 24-26.
– Shubert Theatre. Another downtown event likely to sizzle is be “Tango X 2” Oct. 14-26 at the Shubert. This acclaimed revue (“two hours of tangos without a single dull moment,” said the New York Times last fall) is directed by Miguel Angel Zotto and Milena Plebs, the dancers who starred in the earlier “Tango Argentino.” This revue, emphasizing four couples, has been touring since 1988 and celebrates the tango’s rags-to-riches rise in its own native milieu.
And while we’re listing it under theater, Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas spectacular at the Rosemont Theatre boasts a team many dance fans won’t want to miss, that oldest surviving chorus line, the Rockettes.
Down the line, after the New Year, the spring festival, relocating from the Shubert mostly to the Auditorium, promises the Joffrey Ballet, the National Ballet of Spain, Ballet Chicago in “Sleeping Beauty,” participants in the Dance Center’s European festival, Garth Fagan, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the return of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. And next summer, the Shubert plays host to “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk,” easily the most exciting Broadway dance spectacle since “A Chorus Line.”
Events
Arie Crown Theater
23rd Street and Lake Shore Drive, 312-902-1500
“The Nutcracker,” Chicago Tribune Charities’ 31st-anniversary production, Dec. 12-27.
Auditorium Theatre
50 E. Congress Pkwy. 312-902-1500
Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. Under the direction of the legendary Amalia Hernandez, in their 45th-anniversary tour. Sept. 26-28.
Stars of the Kirov Ballet. Performing mixed repertory from “Swan Lake,” “Giselle,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Nutcracker,” as well as other selections. Oct. 11-12.
Riverdance. The spectacular folk-dance extravaganza, making its downtown debut. Oct. 16-Nov. 23.
The Athenaeum Theatre
2936 N. Southport Ave. 773-935-6860
Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Featuring Randy Duncan’s “Can’t Take This Away,” Kirby Reed’s section of “Chain of Rocks,” Frank Chaves’ “Grusin Suite,” Michael Taylor’s “Just Because,” James Kelly’s “Ten Cents a Dance,” Billy Siegenfeld’s “Getting There,” Giordano’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Sept. 12-14.
Ballet Theater of Chicago. Performing “Majisimo,” Ben Stevenson’s “Three Preludes,” and “Kingdom of the Shades” from “La Bayadere.” Oct. 8-12.
Dance Chicago ’97. The city’s premiere off-Loop dance festival, presenting more than 300 artists in 11 different companies, performing 10 different programs. Oct. 22-Nov. 30.
“Nuts & Bolt: A Jazzy Nutcracker for the ’90s.” Joel Hall Dancers. Dec. 3-7.
Center for Performing Arts
Governors State University, Sauk Trail and Int. Hwy. 57, University Park. 708-235-2222
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Oct. 25.
“The Nutcracker,” featuring the Salt Creek Ballet. Dec. 14. (Also at Hinsdale Central Auditorium, 55th and Grant Streets, Nov. 29 and 30, and Paramount Arts Centre.)
Centre East
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie. 847-673-6300
Pilobolus Dance Theatre. The acclaimed collaborative troupe. Oct. 12.
Tnuatron Dance Theater. A contemporary company from Israel. Nov. 8.
College of DuPage’s Arts Center
425 22nd St., Glen Ellyn. 630-942-4000
The Ohio Ballet and the Dhananjayan Kalanjali Dance Company, in “The Jungle Book: The Adventures of Mowgli.” Oct. 3.
River North Dance Company. Oct. 25.
Dance Center of Columbia College
4701 N. Sheridan Rd.
DanceAfrica 97. The seventh installment of the popular dance festival, focusing on Caribbean styles this year and featuring New York’s Garth Fagan Dance and Marie Brooks Pan-Caribbean Dances with Chicago’s Najwa Dance Corps, Sundance Production and Muntu Dance Theatre. Oct. 24-26. At the Medinah Temple, 600 N. Wabash Ave.
Mordine & Company Dance Theatre. The completed “Anamare,” with a score by Amnon Wolman; a collaboration with Mexico’s Antares Danza Contemporanea and a new work on women and aging. Dec. 5-6.
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. Presenting the Chicago premiere of “Fault,” joined by the Paul Dresher Ensemble. Dec. 12-14. At the Museum of Contemporary Art Theater, 220 E. Chicago Ave.
Paramount Arts Centre
23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. 630-896-6666
“The Nutcracker,” with the Salt Creek Ballet. Dec. 6.
Rosemont Theatre
5400 N. River Rd., Rosemont. 312-902-1500
“The Nutcracker,” Robert Joffrey’s production set in 1850s America. Nov. 21-30.
Shubert Theatre
22 W. Monroe St. 312-902-1500
“Tango X 2.” By Miguel Angel Zotto and Milena Plebs, the two stars of “Tango Argentino,” this program of tango and music already wowed audiences in New York, L.A., Boston and elsewhere. Oct. 14-26.
