Alumni and faculty of the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago and the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department are participating in Elevate Chicago Dance 2018, a full day of free performances, installations, workshops, and discussions by Chicago dance-makers on Sunday, October 21. The event, presented by Chicago Dancemakers Forum in partnership with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), takes place at the historic Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, in Chicago’s Loop. Performances and other activities take place at various venues throughout the Cultural Center between 10 AM and 5 PM, as shown above.

Many artists and companies participating in Elevate Chicago Dance 2018 have strong connections to Columbia College, including:

Ayodele Drum & Dance, whose executive artistic director is Dance Center faculty member Tosha “Ayo” Alston;

BraveSoul, a Hip Hop dance theatre directed by Dance Center faculty Daniel “BRAVEMONK” Haywood and Kelsa “K-Soul” Robinson;

Dance Center faculty member Paige Cunningham Caldarella;

Peter Carpenter, who is on leave as the chair of the Dance Center in order to serve as interim chair of the Columbia College Theatre Department;

Dance Center alum and faculty member Margi Cole ’90, a graduate of the Dance Center’s BA Program in Dance;

Dance Center faculty member Emma Draves;

HoneyPot Chicago, whose co-artistic director, Meida McNeal, is a faculty member in the Columbia College Chicago Department of Art and Art History;

The Humans, whose company includes Dance Center alum Rachel Bunting ’01, a Columbia College Theatre Department faculty member, along with Theatre Department faculty member Precious Jennings;

alumna Erin Kilmurray ’08, a graduate of the Dance Center’s BA Program in Dance;

 

Lucky Plush Productions, whose company includes Dance Center faculty members Michael Caskey, Michel Rodriguez Cintra, and Meghann Wilkinson;

Mordine & Company Dance Theatre, led by the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago’s founder and former chair Shirley Mordine;

Onye Ozuzu, former chair of the Dance Center and former dean of the Columbia College Chicago School of Fine and Performing Arts;

Same Planet Performance Project;

 

The Seldoms, whose founding artistic director, Carrie Hanson, is a Dance Center faculty member, and whose company includes Dance Center alums Philip Elson ’11, Amanda McAlister Howard, Cara Sabin ’06, and Hannah Santistevan ’16;

Synapse Arts, founded and led by Columbia College Theatre Department alum Rachel Damon ’05, a former Dance Center faculty member;

Anna Martine Whitehead, guest choreographer for the Dance Center’s Repertory Performance Workshop; and

alumna Megan Young MFA ’14, a graduate of Columbia College’s MFA Program in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media.

The broadly defined theme of the day explores intersections between Dance, Space, Race, and Place. The Elevate Chicago Dance 2018 artists, through a diverse range of dance and interdisciplinary works, make connections with current ideas about the dynamics between race, social spaces, and personal and body histories. For artists as well as for public audiences, the cultural, political and architectural history of the Chicago Cultural Center building is a powerful setting for these relevant considerations. Dance performances will activate all the floors and multiple public areas of the landmark Chicago Cultural Center, including the Claudia Cassidy Theater, GAR Hall, the Dance Studio, and Preston Bradley Hall. All events are free. For more information, click here.