Dance

River North Dance Chicago is celebrated for creating vibrant works that blend athletic prowess and artistic perspective with bold, theatrical flair. Under artistic direction of Frank Chaves, River North demonstrates depth and sophistication employing eclectic movement and demanding choreography. Boasting an eclectic, dynamic, jazz-based contemporary repertoire, internationally acclaimed River North conjures a powerful spectrum of human emotion.

Presenting choreographic works that examine human relationships, this extraordinary collection of world-class dancers articulates the perfect marriage between explosive hip-hop physicality and the subtle profoundness of contemporary story telling. A combination of the narrative, the spectacular, and the freedom of break dancing with the abstraction, nuances, and technique of contemporary dance results in a true hybrid of dance forms. Under the direction of distinguished dancer and choreographer Victor Quijada, Rubberbandance has soared to extraordinary levels. The Los Angeles native formulates a refined repertoire that amalgamates his early roots with his transplanted foundation.

Acclaimed Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-Min founded Cloud Gate 2 to foster new talent and showcase the next generation of Taiwanese dance. Dance Europe describes this innovative ensemble as, “a vibrant Company.” Cloud Gate II’s portfolio of work is celebrated around the world as some of the most innovative and creative contemporary dance to come out of Asia in decades. At the forefront of modern dance, Cloud Gate II dares to take beautiful risks that produce equally stunning outcomes.

Described by The Huffington Post as “a visually delicious beast that never comes short of dazzling the senses,” the award-winning Robert Moses’ Kin dance company from San Francisco performs their critically acclaimed work, Fable & Faith. Exploring imagination, creativity, identity and the current cultural climate through the metaphor of children’s fables, Fable & Faith features the exquisite San Francisco Boys Chorus under the direction of Ian Robertson, and award-winning playwright and actress Anne Galjour.  Also on the program is The Cinderella Principle,the company’s multi-media exploration into non-traditional family structures.  Don’t miss Robert Moses’ Kin, loved by audiences and called “masterful” by the San Francisco Chronicle and “intoxicating” by the Chicago Tribune.

Fiercely original, Chunky Move has earned an enviable reputation for producing a distinct yet unpredictable brand of technology-driven and genre-defying dance performance. The company redefines what is or what can be contemporary dance. Chunky Move’s work is both diverse in form and content. In Connected, the dynamic is flipped and digital technology is side stepped in favor of pure mechanics. Teaming up with Californian artist, Reuben Margolin, Chunky Move’s director and choreographer Gideon Obarzanek, animates both the body and the machine through physical connection between the dancers and Margolin’s purpose-built, kinetic sculpture. In Connected it is people – athletic and agile dancers’ bodies twisting and hurtling through space, as well as people in recognizable situations. To date, they have created a repertoire for the stage, as well as site specific, new-media, and installation works.