Founded by choreographer and educator Shirley Mordine, the Dance Center was established in 1969 to house Columbia College Chicago’s Dance Department. In 1974, the Dance Center established its presenting series to provide students and Chicago audiences with opportunities to experience contemporary dance in a professional setting. The Dance Center moved from Uptown to the current location in the South Loop at 13th and Michigan in 2000. Today, the Dance Center offers a full range of programs designed to enhance and expand the quality and quantity of dance available in Chicago and the Midwest.

Here's just a small sampling of the hundreds of companies we've presented over the past five decades.

2023-24 Season

**American Dancing Bodies Symposium:** Michelle Gibson and the **New Orleans Original BuckShop Workshop and** **Dr. Thomas F. DeFrantz**
**American Dancing Bodies Symposium: A New Decade of Dance Films: Screening and Performances by** **Kierah “Kiki” King** **and** **Patricia Nguyen**
**American Dancing Bodies Symposium: MO(VE)MENT Performance Showcase with:**
**Ayodele Drum & Dance**
**BraveSoul Movement**
**The Joffrey Ballet’s Contemporary Ballet Trainee Program**
**Mordine & Company** **Legacy Project**
**Loco7 Dance Puppet Theater**
B-SERIES: B-Long + Show & Prove Hip Hop Studies Conference Series
with **LaTasha Barnes**, **Jonathan “BIONIC” Bayani (Rock Force Crew / Machine Gone Funk)**, **Mikey Disko (MOP TOP / Knuckle Neck Tribe / Soul Sector)**, **Lady Sol,** **and** **Q.V.I.P.**
**LaTasha Barnes’s The Jazz Continuum**
**Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival 2024**
**Ayako Kato**
**SJ Swilley**
**J’Sun Howard**
**Erin Kilmurray** **with Kara Brody**

2022-23 Season

**Elevate Chicago Dance 2022**
Ginger Krebs
Hedwig Dances
Donnetta Jackson/ M.A.D.D. Rhythms
Bill Shannon (aka Crutchmaster)
B-Series B-ALL ACCESS
featuring
Junior (Red Bull BC One All Star)
Crutch Master (StepFenz)
Fabulous Freddie Prodigy (House of Prodigy)
Crumbles (Gravity Benders)
Diamond (Chicago Footwork)
STAYCEE PEARL dance project and Soy Sos
FLOCK & Artists
Jumaane Taylor

2021-22 Season

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
The Seldoms
Eiko Otake
**South Loop Spark Plug** (featuring works by Keyierra Collins, Orlando de León Jr., Keisha Janae, and Vershawn Sanders- Ward / Red Clay Dance Company)
Sara Juli

The 2020-21 season was comprised of virtual and socially-distanced programming.

FALL 2020 | THE DANCE BUFFET

The Dance Buffet offered innovative online learning and community building programs, including discussions, workshops, classes, and more.

Residencies and Virtual Presentations

Nejla Yatkin
Jumaane Taylor
Jenn Freeman

Workshops, Masterclasses, Discussions, Events

Michelle Boulé
Joanna Furnans
Jane Jerardi
Jacob Snodgrass
Erin Kilmurray and Steph Paul
Chicago Dance History Project
Margi Cole

Amy Smith
Anna Martine Whitehead
Jessica Young
Ayo Alston
Kelsa Robinson and Bravemonk
Sara Zalek
Keisha Janae Bennett and Trell

Lisa Gonzales and Darrell Jones
Paige Caldarella and Emily Stein
Gina Hoch-Stall and Anjal Chande
Kevin Rechner
Danielle Ross
Gregory King
Dance Center 50th Anniversary Celebration

Virtual Residencies 2020
Sara Zalek
Kierah King