Giordano Dance Chicago, America’s original jazz dance company enters their 63rd “Ignite the Soul” season, with an exhilarating program at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 and 2 p.m. Sunday Oct. 19. Resident Choreographer Al Blackstone’s acclaimed one-act “Gershwin in B,” award-winning Chicago-based choreographer Brock Clawson’s “Give & Take,” “Interlinked,” a new work choreographed by Company Dancer Simon Schuh plus three additional works from the company’s exciting repertoire are featured in the program.
“Season 63 is unstoppable, with events, partnerships, residencies and touring,” says Giordano Dance Chicago Artistic Director Nan Giordano. “All of these different opportunities give us a wellspring of vibrant energy beauty and unity to bring to a world where it is so greatly needed.”
GDC Company Dancers in "Gershwin in B" by Al Blackstone - Photo by Anderson Photography
Company Dancer Schuh originally created “Interlinked,” as a work for four GII dancers performed this past spring for “Giordano on Giordano” (“G on G”). This annual event hosted, by Giordano Dance Chicago, gives Company Dancers the chance to create works on dancers in the Giordano Dance Chicago’s second company (GII). Schuh expanded the work and added two more dancers for a total of six for its world premiere on Sept. 20 as one of the commissioned works performed at Chicago Live! at Navy Pier, presented by the Pritzker Foundation and supported by Peoples Gas. The work will be featured in a Giordano Dance Chicago concert for the first time at the October North Shore Center engagement.
Also on the program:
• “unconditional” (2024) by Company Dancer Adam Houston. This “mesmerizing pas de deux” (Third Coast Review) was initially developed for “G on G,” Giordano Dance Chicago’s choreography showcase and investment in its dancers’ artistic expression.
• “Gershwin in B” (2024). Emmy Award-winning choreographer Blackstone describes this theatrical full company work as “a celebration of the glorious music of George Gershwin, the incredible legacy of Giordano Dance Chicago, and one young woman’s curious spirit.” Third Coast Review calls it …” a rousing work” and Chicago City Pleasures hails it as “nothing less than breathtaking.” The North Shore Center engagement will be the only opportunity to catch this work this season.
• “Give & Take” (2009) by Brock Clawson. Dance Magazine describes the work as “a choreographic essay on the competition, mutual dependence and opposition of couples.”
The Chicago Sun Times lauds the piece as “a work of impressive polish, complexity and emotional sophistication.”
• “333” (2024). This inspirational solo was created by Nan Giordano and the company’s Associate Artistic Director Cesar G. Salinas for Company Dancer Erina Ueda, (Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch - 2024”). Buzz Center Stage says “it is quite simply a mesmerizing tour de force.”
• “Red and Black” (2024). This tantalizing work choreographed by ABC TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” choreographer Ray Leeper, fuses passion, elegance, and sophistication. Stage and Cinema describes it as a “tantalizing fusion of peerless dance and riveting theater.”
Tickets
Giordano Dance Chicago presents the fall engagement of their 63rd “Ignite the Soul” season at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts located at 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, Ill. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 and 2 p.m. Sunday Oct. 19. Tickets are $40.30-$83.40. For tickets and more information visit www.northshorecenter.org.
America's original jazz dance company electrifies into their 63rd season with radiance and infinite horizons. Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) is an iconic cultural institution with deep roots in Chicago and around the globe (28 countries, 47 states, and more than 1,300 cities). From founder Gus Giordano's vision, the company continues to honor the past while pushing the art form forward. Nan Giordano celebrates 41 years as an artistic leader responsible for commissioning innovative choreographic works and mentoring thousands of dancers. Alongside Nan, Associate Artistic Director, Cesar G. Salinas and the magnificent dancers are an integral part of the GDC legacy. Al Blackstone serves as Resident Choreographer, truly a testament that the art form of jazz dance is thriving. The company is one of the few in the world that has a foundational technique, Nan Giordano Certification Program® with certified teachers in 9 countries and 36 states. GDC is committed to Youth Arts Education at home and on tour through mentorships, scholarships, and our free Chicago Public Schools and park programs. GDC is proud to be one of the longest running dance companies in the world, continuing to enrich lives through dance. For more information visit giordanodance.org.