Destine Young
Ground Rhythm Dance Project, a company led by Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago alum Destine Young ’13, will perform Monday, August 7, at Links Hall at Constellation, Chicago’s leading venue for experimental dance. The group will appear as part of Links Hall’s Jello Series, presenting a sneak preview of its work in progress, Torque, which will debut in the fall.
Tess Collins
William Harris
Dina Liberatore
Bryonna Teverbaugh
Jacob Buerger
Besides Young, a graduate of the Dance Center’s BA Program in Dance, Ground Rhythm Dance Project includes several Columbia College Chicago alumni, including Tess Collins ’13, William Harris ’16, Dina Liberatore ’14, Marceia Scruggs ’17, and Bryonna Teverbaugh ’15 — all graduates of the Dance Center’s Dance BA Program — and Dedrick Gray ’15, a graduate of the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department‘s BA Program in Marketing. Also in the company is current student Jacob Buerger, a senior in the Dance Center’s BFA Program in Dance.
“This work addresses issues surrounding ideas of mental and relational imprisonment,” says Young of the work in progress that GRDP will preview at Links Hall on August 7. “Dancers in this piece relive recent moments of both systemic imprisonment and self-imprisoned environments that directly affect their decision-making. With all of the tension transpiring in our country caused by the current social and political climates, we feel that as a people we have to create space for healing in order to have freedom. Not just in our minds but in our bodies, especially as it relates to our relationships with others. The broken places in humanity can be restored and rejuvenated to exude acts of love, patience, kindness, and honesty. We believe through healing, conversation, time, education, advocacy, and unity, we can create change in this world, one mind, one body, one spirit at a time.”
Here’s an informational video on Ground Rhythm Dance Project:
The Ground Rhythm Method introduces a movement hybrid that is influenced by martial arts, urban and contemporary dance vocabulary, while highlighting the use of rhythmic variation, somatic breath techniques, partnering. improvisation, and decision-making. “We are a Chicago based dance company strongly dedicated to the cultures we represent as well as the support of human relationships,” GRDP says on its website. “We believe in creating an inclusive and interactive dance environment for our audience as we take our work from the camera, to the stage and to the streets. Setting site specific work allows us to communicate with our communities, young or old, and invite them into our process. As we connect and interact with our audiences, we hope to deliver visceral communicative ideas that will stimulate greater spirituality, change, diversity and creativity.”
Links Hall at Constellation is located at 3111 N. Western, in Chicago’s West Lakeview neighborhood. The performance on Monday, August 7, starts at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $10. For tickets, click here.
