Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre (CRDT) is pleased to announce its Spring 2025 Concert Series, helmed by co-founder and artistic director Wilfredo Rivera, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., on Friday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 7, at 2 p.m. The approximate runtime is 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets are $37 - $79 and available now at CerquaRivera.org. Sponsor and Angel level tickets are available and includes access to exclusive pre-show chat with Co-Founder & Artistic Director Wilfredo Rivera.
Concerts will include performances of original dance and music by the company’s professional dance ensemble and jazz orchestra. Works by choreographers Wilfredo Rivera, Shannon Alvis and Michelle Manzanales and composers Joe Cerqua and James Sanders celebrate the Latinx diaspora, exploring the range of gender identity and the experience of metamorphosis, and reflecting the immigrant experience and our shared humanity.
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s award-winning art – called “blended magic” by See Chicago Dance and “immersive alchemy” by Newcity Stage – explores authentic personal stories at the crossroads of heritage, culture and identity. The company is made up of hometown “movers and shakers who dazzled audiences” (Chicago Tribune) that performs “outstanding choreography deftly executed by this technically superb troupe.” (Splash Magazine).
Dancer, Caitlin Clark
The Spring 2025 Concert program includes:
LÁGRIMAS NEGRAS
by Wilfredo Rivera and Composition by Miguel Matamoros with arrangement by CRDT Music Director Stu Greenspan
A celebration of Wilfredo's childhood among the Latino diaspora, to the classic bolero-son
The Island
by Michelle Manzanales (Ballet Hispánico) and James Sanders (Conjunto, Chicago Sinfonietta)
Inspired by a real life story about the island in the Humboldt Park lagoon which becomes a wonderful refuge for two girls, where playful and imaginary moments were the escape from reality
Metamorphosis
by Shannon Alvis (Hubbard Street Chicago) and Joe Cerqua (Columbia College, American Players Theatre)
Inspired by non-binary/gender queer and trans Chicago dance artists, exploring evolving definitions of gender identity
American Catracho (Act II)
by Willfredo Rivera
Wilfredo Rivera's epic semi-autobiographical piece exploring immigration, from displacement and trauma to resilience & hope
ABOUT CERQUA RIVERA DANCE THEATRE
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre combines dance, music and visual art to immerse audiences in performative storytelling. This unique company invites both performers and audiences to contemplate the beautiful differences in communities and explore the intersections of heritage, culture, and identity. For nearly three decades, Cerqua Rivera has been a seasoned staple of the Chicago dance community as well as a national touring organization. See Chicago Dance says the company “possesses a blended magic that is difficult to come by” and “creates a deeper sense of commitment and intimacy.” Newcity Stage raves that Cerqua Rivera "speaks straight to the heart, feeding a hunger [you] may not even realize.”
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre presents its Spring 2025 Concert Series at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts on Friday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 7, at 2 p.m. The Tickets are $37 - $79 and available now at CerquaRivera.org.
The 2024-2025 season is partially supported by the Lester & Hope Abelson Fund for the Performing Arts at The Chicago Community Foundation, Arts Work Fund; National Endowment for the Arts; Illinois Arts Council; Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; The Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation Fund (a Donor Advised Fund at the DeKalb County Community Foundation); Anne E. Leibowitz Fund; Weinberg Family Foundation; Richard G. & Diane Weinberg Foundation; Evanston Cultural Fund; Chicago Park District and Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation.