The Chicago Tribune’s Lauren Warnecke chats with Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood and Kelsa “K-Soul” Rieger-Hawyood, Lisa Gonzales, Meredith Sutton and Roell Schmidt in a preview of our annual Hip Hop battle/jam and festival the B-SERIES.
Distractions and attractions onstage this season: Irene Hsiao picks our Chicago Solo Spotlight Festival in The Reader
Onstage front-runners: Our critics select a few promising performances for the months ahead.
Catharsis and Community: A Preview of “She’s Auspicious” at the Dance Center of Columbia College
Call & Response: On Knockout - Sixty Inches from Center's Rachel Lindsay's Reflection
See Chicago Dance Review: Artists pack a punch during Columbia College’s Chicago Artist Festival
See Chicago Dance’s Megan Kudla reviews our recent Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival second weekend of performances: “Every piece was carefully crafted and packed a punch, and the performers masterfully navigated the worlds created. The artistic output of Kilmurray & Brody, Howard and Swilley were meaningful and exciting, setting a high standard for what performance art can be and say about process, product and the relationships that are essential to them.”
Environmental awakening: ETHOS IV connects community to the Earth
A canopy of pink blossoming trees showers petals on the audience as we sail down the path, pulled along by a current of wind and sound. Slow and easy, like swirling air, four figures float through the grove, reverently laying hands upon the bark and grass. They caress the breeze and mimic the shapes of the branches and trunks. Ayako Kato—kinetic philosopher, poet and choreographer—pauses to hang from one branch, arm hooked delicately and body unfolding toward the sky. The crowd is hushed. See Chicago Dance reviews Ayako Kato’s ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle/Rebirth.
Rooted in Connection: The Dance Center Celebrates Local Artists During its Fiftieth Season
Sharon Hoyer of New City Stage interviews our Artistic Director Meredith Sutton: “The Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago is a semi-hidden gem just off the path of big-name performance venues in the Loop…Some of the most memorable performances I’ve seen in my near twenty years of covering dance in Chicago have taken place on the Dance Center stage. Experimental work, student and faculty showcases, nationally and internationally revered artists have all rarified the Dance Center’s air for half a century.”
Stages in Bloom: Our Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival in Chicago Reader's Picks for Spring
The Dance Center of Columbia College presents the first Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival, featuring works by distinguished Chicago dancemakers Ayako Kato, J’Sun Howard, SJ Swilley, and Erin Kilmurray and Kara Brody in works that expand the footprint of performance beyond the stage.
"LaTasha Barnes and company explore “The Jazz Continuum” at Columbia College"
It’s LaTasha Barnes’ “The Jazz Continuum,” a communal celebration of Black American dance and music running March 7-9 at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. Timelines collide as different eras of jazz dance and adjacent forms—tap dance, footwork, popping, break dance, line dance and more—blend together in a seamless juxtaposition of styles.
