Chicago Dancing Festival: August 20-23, 2014
FREE Programming features Top Ballet, Modern & Hip-Hop Dancers, including a
WORLD PREMIERE Festival Commission by Kyle Abraham
This incredible annual festival is FREE and tickets are highly sought after. Mark the show dates and ticket release dates on your calendar now and get ready to reserve you spots!
Tickets for the 8th annual Chicago Dancing Festival, the free Festival at venues across downtown Chicago, will become available to the general public July 8 and 9. Co-produced by internationally renowned choreographer and native Chicagoan Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, the 2014 Chicago Dancing Festival features top ballet, modern and hip-hop companies from Chicago and across the country, set to take place August 20 – 23.
All events are free but tickets for indoor events must be reserved in advance through each venue’s box office.
Tickets for the August 20 program at the Harris Theater will be released July 8 at noon, available in person at the Harris Theater Box Office, 205 E. Randolph Drive, or by calling (312) 334-7777. Limit two (2) tickets per order; tickets ordered by phone will be held at Will-Call.
Tickets for the August 22 programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art will be release July 9 at noon, available in person at the MCA Stage Box Office, 220 E. Chicago Avenue, or by calling (312) 397-4010. Limit two (2) tickets per order; tickets ordered by phone will be held at Will-Call.
No tickets are needed for the outdoor Pritzker Pavilion events, including the Opening Night Simulcast on August 20 and the Grand Finale performance on August 23.
Any empty seats or tickets unclaimed at 15 minutes prior to curtain time will be released to those in a Stand-by line. Stand-by lines begin one hour before each performance, in person only. All seating is general admission.
Chicago Dancing Festival 2014 Schedule
Wednesday, August 20 – 7 pm
Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Street
The Chicago Dancing Festival opening night program will be simulcast on the outdoor screen of the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
A Gala Benefit on the Harris Terrace follows the free indoor program.
- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, CDF original commission by Kyle Abraham
- The Juilliard School, The Jig Is Up by Eliot Feld
- Martha Graham Dance Company, Errand into the Maze by Martha Graham
- Stars of American Ballet*, Fancy Free by Jerome Robbins
Friday, August 22 – 6 pm and 8 pm
Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Avenue
An evening of duets
- Adam Barruch, Belladonna by Adam Barruch
- The Joffrey Ballet, Bells (excerpt) by Yuri Possokhov
- Martha Graham Dance Company, Errand into the Maze by Martha Graham
- Pam Tanowitz Dance*, Passagen by Pam Tanowitz (live music)
Saturday, August 23 – 7:30 pm
Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph Street
“Celebration of Dance” Grand Finale
- The Joffrey Ballet, Nine Sinatra Songs by Twyla Tharp
- The Juilliard School, The Jig Is Up by Eliot Feld
- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Falling Angels by Jiří Kylián
- Rennie Harris Puremovement*, Students of the Asphalt Jungle by Dr. Rennie Harris
- Stars of Washington Ballet Brooklyn Mack and Maki Onuki, pas de deux from Le Corsaire by Marius Petipa
Additional events and artists for the 2014 Festival to be announced!
All programs are subject to change.
*CDF Debut
About the Chicago Dancing Festival
Established in 2007, the Chicago Dancing Festival was founded to elevate awareness of dance in Chicago, to increase accessibility to the art form and to provide inspiration for local artists. Its mission is to present a wide variety of excellent dance, enrich the lives of the people of Chicago and provide increased accessibility to the art form, thereby helping create a new audience. Its vision is to raise the national and international profile of dance in the city, furthering Chicago as the “dance capital of the world” (as Mayor Rahm Emanuel put it at the 2012 Chicago Dancing Festival).
Lar Lubovitch (Founder, Artistic Director) is one of America's most versatile and highly acclaimed choreographers and founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 45 years ago. In the years since, he has choreographed more than 100 dances for his New York-based company, which has performed in nearly all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 foreign countries. Born in Chicago, Mr. Lubovitch was educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York.
Jay Franke (Founder, Artistic Director) began his formal training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. In 1993, he was selected as a Finalist for the Presidential Scholar in the Arts and accepted into the Juilliard School. Upon receiving his BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School, Mr. Franke went to work with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, “THARP!” Mr. Franke has since danced with The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and was a leading dancer in the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 2005 to 2010.
The Chicago Dancing Festival is grateful for its 2014 supporters including: InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Official Hotel Partner; Museum of Contemporary Art; Harris Theater for Music and Dance; City of Chicago, Millennium Park; The Robert and Jamie Taylor Foundation; David Herro and Jay Franke; Illinois Arts Council; National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Chicago Community Trust; Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust; and the Irving Harris Foundation. The Harris Theater is proud to have the support of The Northern Trust Company as its 2014-2015 season sponsor.
For more information on the Chicago Dancing Festival, its history and programs, visit www.chicagodancingfestival.com.
