The Dance Center and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Present
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre
Thursday-Friday, April 30 and May 1, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 2, 2026 at Noon
Tickets: General Admission ($30); Non-Columbia Student Ticket ($10); Free to Columbia College Chicago students.
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre makes its Dance Center debut with its 2026 Spring Concert Series.
On the line up are three new world premieres: Immense World by Shannon Alvis, Trouble in Mind by Monique Haley, and Bridge Over Troubled Water by CRDT Co-Founder and Artistic Director Wilfredo Rivera with arrangements and original music by CRDT Co-Founder Joe Cerqua. Back by popular demand is Shannon Alvis’ A Place Between Earth & Sky (2018) with original music by Clarice Assad.
"One of the enduring and whimsical and uplifting qualities of the company is the fusion of dance and live music—the integration is vital. For the audience perspective, live music transforms the room. That rumbling underneath your feet because of the percussion or the voices of the vocalist simmering in the air, it bathes your auditory system. It affects you from the inside out.” - Wilfredo Rivera, Co-Founder and Artistic Director
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre was born to explore and celebrate the American identity. These artists are fearless storytellers who help people understand and engage with themselves and the world around them. Each piece the company makes centers around a specific experience and they use research and radical collaboration to convey that narrative through a diverse group of artists. Cerqua Rivera engages with its community through local and national touring, workshops, interactive previews of work in progress, and full concerts.
Banner image courtesy of Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, photo by Andrew Weeks Photography
