Friday Class Series
Make a date to dance every Friday this fall from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon.
From September 27 through and including November 22, 2024 new instructors every week, drawn from Chicago’s wealth of dance talent, visiting artists, and exceptional students lead this sampler series of a kaleidoscope of techniques, styles, and approaches. All classes take place in the Dance Center theater and movers at all levels are welcome. Fall Class Pass holders receive friendly reminders each week with information about each instructor and any special instructions.
Come dance with us!
Uses of the Erotic: Burlesque as Power Workshop
by Po'Chop | Jenn Freeman
Uses of the Erotic: Burlesque as Power is a movement based workshop that explores burlesque movement as a vehicle to explore and awaken one’s erotic, a sense of deep satisfaction. Rooted in Audre Lorde’s essay, “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” this workshop will delve into elements of burlesque while encouraging participants to tap into ways of moving and being that feels right to each individual.
This space aims to be conducive to exploration, play, and expansive notions of self-love, joy, pleasure, and confidence. Emotions may come up during the workshops and folks are encouraged to process their feelings as needed as long as it does not impair the safety and experience of others.
Please bring a journal and wear comfortable clothes to move in.
Po’Chop | Jenn Freeman is an interdisciplinary artist, spacemaker, and educator. Weaving together storytelling, burlesque, drag, digital art, and dance, their practice centers the lived experiences of Black women and queer identity as an invitation to reimagine how history is shaped and shared. Having been born and raised in Missouri’s bootheel, Freeman’s artmaking has been impacted by their experience praise dancing in their childhood church, studying the life and work of Black feminists such as Audre Lorde and through collaborating with creators Anna Martine Whitehead, Jamila Woods and VAM STUDIO. As a maker who straddles communities and disciplines, Po’Chop and their work have been experienced in a plethora of arenas and contexts such as the Brooklyn Museum in Brown Girls’ Burlesque Bodyspeak, the Harris Theater of Music and Dance for TedxChicago, Season 2 of Netflix’s Easy, Steppenwolf Theatre’s LookOut Series, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art and EXPO Chicago. They are the co-founder of House of the Lorde, a multi-functional art studio and the creator and author of the blogzine, The Brown Pages. They have been the recipient of grants from United States Artists (2022), Dance/USA (2023), Foundation of Contemporary Art (2021), Urban Bush Women (2019-2022) and Chicago Dancemakers Forum (2018). They’ve received residencies from Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (2023), Pivot Arts (2019) and Links Hall (2017).
