**** Recommended It was an absolute pleasure to see Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performing their Season 47: Winter Series at the Harris Theatre. The three-part program (with two intermissions) featured pieces choreographed by Ohad Naharin, FLOCK: Alice Klock & Florian Lochner, James Gregg and Johan Inger. I was in awe of the grace and strength displayed by the entire ensemble. 4 Spotlights!
The Hubbard Street Dance Chicago company includes Alexandria Best, Dominick Brown, Jacqueline Burnett, Aaron Choate, Morgan Clune, Michele Dooley, Elliot Hammans, Jack Henderson, Bianca Melidor, Shota Miyoshi, Andrew Murdock, David Schultz, Simone Stevens and Cyrie Topete. Seasonal Guest Artists are Jemoni Powe and Sydney Revennaugh.
The evening’s first piece, Black Milk, choreographed by Ohad Naharin, looked a little like a lopsided dance-off. One dancer started, four others repeated in an original, physically demanding pattern. The music, Elude No. 3 and Rhythm Song, by Paul Smadbeck, which sounded like a duel between xylophones & drums, was very tribal.
The dancers (2/13 & 2/14): Aaron Choate, Elliot Hammans, Jack Henderson, Andrew Murdock and David Schultz. (2/15 & 2/16): Dominick Brown, Elliot Hammans, Jack Henderson, Shota Miyoshi and David Schultz
Into Being, choreographed by FLOCK: Alice Klock & Florian Lochner, to music by Michael Well, was kind of tribal and visually striking. It really reminded me of combat, as the dancers, wearing striking orange costumes, moved to the beat of drums. After the performance, I heard everyone asking how they could move like that!
The dancers: Aaron Choate, Michele Dooley, Bianca Melidor, Simone Stevens and Cyrie Topete.
Within the Frame, a World Premiere choreographed by James Gregg to music by Ben Waters was beautifully presented against a black background with a large, white diamond shape outlined on the floor. At one point, that diamond broke up into straight lines that moved around the stage like a pair of spotlights in the night.
The dancers: (2/13 & 2/14) Dominick Brown, Aaron Choate, Michele Dooley and Cyrie Topete or (2/15 & 2/16), Elliot Hammans, Shota Miyoshi, Andrew Murdock and Sydney Revennaugh
Impasse, a piece choreographed by Johan Inger in 2020, had its Hubbard Street premiere in 2024. The music: Lily (Is 2) Will Soon Be a Woman, Maeva in the Wonderland, Your Soul & Never Serious, by Amos Ben-al and Diagnostic by Ibrahim Maalouf. This piece features the entire company with Craig D. Black, Jr.
The curtain opens on an entirely black stage, except for the bright neon white outline of a house off to one side. A single dancer emerges from the house, then another, then another, until there are five, all wearing normal clothing. They alternate pairings and configurations, until they are confronted by a larger company all wearing black. Soon the five disappear, then emerge wearing black, too. The title impasse occurs when a clutch of creepy clowns stream out of the house. As they confront the dancers in black, the outline of the house starts shrinking until it’s almost too small for anyone.
Although the FALL SERIES has concluded, the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago season will continue in 2017 with the SPRING SERIES March 16th through 19th, DANC(E)VOLVE: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL May 10th through 14th and the SUMMER SERIES June 8th through 11th. Hubbard Street Dance is a resident company at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park, 205 East Randolph, Chicago. By the way, parking is available at a reduced rate. Get your ticket validated in the lobby. FYI www.hubbardstreetdance.com.