WATCH RIGHT HERE! LIVE Stream 10th Wheel Gymnastics World Championships 2013 Chicago

10th Wheel Gymnastics World Championships 2013 Chicago LIVE Stream of the competition’s events for the rest of the week. Starting today at 11:30. Check it out!

http://www.livestream.com/rhonrad

Watch live streaming video from rhonrad at livestream.com

FREE Family Friendly Fire Jam THIS Wed at Garfield Park Conservatory 7/10 #originalphotos

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ACT OUT OPENING: PRODUCE at Signal Ensemble Theatre July 26-27 & Aug 9-10

The Ensemble Project & Signal Ensemble’s Julie Ballard and Anthony Ingram present:  PRODUCE

Returning for a Third Season of Artistic Mixing and Matching

at Signal Ensemble Theatre July 26-27 and Aug 9-10, 2013

WHAT:   The Ensemble Project Presents PRODUCE: a multi-arts experiment in four parts

WHO:  Hosted by Lauren Warnecke and Signal Ensemble member Anthony Ingram, with participating artists Country Death Trip, Mark Hardy / Celestial Architecture, Carol McCurdy and Michael Zerang, Philip Elson, The Nexus Project (Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Benjamin Holliday Wardell),
crawlspace (Lydia Feuerhelm), Newman and Newman (Cara and Julia Newman), and hey girl hey omg girl real life (Heather Marie Vernon and Darling Shear).

WHEN:  Friday and Saturday July 26-27 at 7:30pm and Friday and Saturday August 9-10 at 7:30pm

WHERE:  Signal Ensemble Theatre, 1802 W. Berenice, Chicago, IL 60613. Street parking available on Ravenswood and Berenice (runs one way going west) CTA Brown line EL stops Irving Park and Addison CTA busses #80-Irving Park, #152-Addison, #50-Damen, #11-Lincoln. Handicapped accessible. For additional parking and transportation information, visit http://www.signalensemble.com/contact/directions.html

HOW MUCH:  Tickets are available for $8 ($25 season pass) at the door or online at https://www.artful.ly/events/1476

The Ensemble Project and Signal Ensemble Theatre’s Julie Ballard and Anthony Ingram present PRODUCE for its third season in collaboration with Lauren Warnecke / Art Intercepts. Selected by Time Out Chicago as one of the top dance performances of 2012, PRODUCE is a multi-disciplinary lab for sound and movement artists to play with their work, and with the traditional audience format. Selected artists are “mashed” together in various combinations and conditions over four consecutive performances. 

Throughout each performance and the series, the audience has an opportunity to provide real-time feedback, ask questions, figure out what experimental performance is and how it works, and help to inform the next phase of the performance (the substance of which is largely decided in the moment). Artists and audience alike witness the deconstruction and regeneration of existing works thrust into unforeseen territories as dictated by co-hosts Lauren Warnecke and Signal Ensemble member Anthony Ingram.

First devised by co-producers Lauren Warnecke and Milwaukee-based musician Timothy Russell, the series premiered in 2011 and continued last year with hosts Warnecke and Chicago sound artist Russell Weiss. 

Now in its third season, this year's line-up includes:
Country Death Trip, Mark Hardy / Celestial Architecture, Carol McCurdy and Michael Zerang, Philip Elson, The Nexus Project (Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Benjamin Holliday Wardell), crawlspace (Lydia Feuerhelm), Newman and Newman (Cara and Julia Newman), and hey girl hey omg girl real life (Heather Marie Vernon and Darling Shear). Adding to the PRODUCE family in 2013 is new co-host and Signal Ensemble member Anthony Ingram who, with fellow Signal Ensemble associate Julie Ballard will be producing the series under The Ensemble Project. The Ensemble Project creates opportunities for Signal members and associates to work on individual projects outside the company’s performance season by providing them with space, marketing opportunities and mentorship. Working alongside Ballard and Ingram is original curator/producer Lauren Warnecke / Art Intercepts. 

With this change in venue come increased support, possibilities, and production value, as well as a new performance structure.  Instead of four single weekly performances, Season 3 of PRODUCE consists Friday and Saturday performances two weeks apart.

PRODUCE runs July 26-27 and August 9-10 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $8 general admission.  Season passes are available for $25.  All performances are located at Signal Ensemble Theatre, 1802 W. Berenice, Chicago, IL 60613. For more information, call Lauren Warnecke at 773-341-8940 or purchase tickets online at https://www.artful.ly/events/1476.

SOUND AND MUSIC ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES:

Mark Hardy / Celestial Architecture: Mark Hardy is a musician, composer and artist currently living in Chicago. His music has been performed by the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, the Butchershop Quartet, and other ensembles around the world.  Painting and drawing has always been a passion for him concurrent to music writing, and his graphic scores for improvisation that merge these two disciplines. Celestial Architecture is a group with revolving members assembled to perform “Constellations.”

Michael Zerang of McCurdy/Zerang: Michael Zerang has been a professional musician, composer, and producer since 1976, focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms. As a percussionist and composer, Michael has over eighty titles in his discography and has toured nationally and internationally to 34 countries since 1981, and works with and ever-widening pool of collaborators.

Country Death Trip, Staring Barry Thaded and The Deacon: Country Death Trip hit the road, the Summer of ’72 – the year of the Rat. Touring the backwaters of Terrebonne Parish, LA – raising hell and saving babies – they were eventually run out of the state by peckerwood Sheriff Allan T. Complain… for honin in on his territory. Since then, CDT has circled the world 5 times (not necessarily in that order) sleeping on the sofas of adoring jailbait – and occasionally wedged between the Pepsi machine. At one point they were to open for the Residents, but were dropped from the roster when Randy’s eyeball went missing. Today, the Trip recaptures its long lost youth, playing prom dates, quinceañeras, and the occasional bris.

MOVEMENT AND DANCE ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES:

The Nexus Project (Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Benjamin Holliday Wardell): The Nexus Project is a complex choreographic collaboration in which twelve Chicago-based choreographers from a wide range of dance backgrounds each had twelve hours to choreograph a duet on the two of us. Now, we are breaking all the duets apart and remixing them to create a unique choreographic vocabulary out of strictly nothing but the original choreographers’ movements.  This vocabulary will comprise the movement for an evening of storytelling in November 2013.

Carole McCurdy of McCurdy and Zerang: Carole McCurdy has performed at spaces including the Chicago Cultural Center, Epiphany Dance, Links Hall, Hamlin Park, High Concept Laboratories, Movement Research (NY), and Defibrillator Gallery. She has created solo performance pieces and work for ensemble, danced in butoh pieces with Nicole Legette’s Blushing Poppy, and worked with a talented array of Chicago improvisers and devisers.

crawlspace (Lydia Feuerhelm): Lydia Feuerhelm is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance at Columbia College Chicago and plans to graduate in the Spring of 2014. Her choreographic and improvisational work has been presented  at various events including The Dance Repertory Company, The American College Dance Festival Association, Manifest Urban Arts Festival, WedLocal, and Chicago Art Institute’s After Dark.  Her recent performance credits include works by Charlotte Kahler, Alexa Rittichier, and Andy Slavin. Besides investigating movement, Feuerhelm has a keen interest in exploring dance for camera and multi-media collaborations.

“hey girl hey omg girl real life” (Heather Marie Vernon and Darling Shear): We want a lot of things to happen we want to make people aware of their surroundings, what they say, how they move, how they interact with each other and the world around them.  We want them to be playful with what happens when we do push those boundaries and navigate those bordered spaces. We want people to figure out what and who they are – like a bird who makes her nest based on the circumference of her wingspan and what’s around her.

Philip Elson: is a dance artist engaging with various arenas of dance research and performance including live performance, dance for camera, and experimental collaboration. He received a BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago. Currently, Elson is in his fifth season dancing with contemporary dance company The Seldoms, with whom he also serves as Technology and Media Coordinator. Elson’s choreographic work has been showcased in Chicago as part of MIX with SIX presented by The Seldoms, Dance for $9.99 presented by Chicago Moving Company, The Open Space Project, Poonie’s Cabaret, The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2010: Chicago, Red Tape Theater’s CFANN 2010, Manifest Urban Arts Festival, Links Hall’s Linkages Program, and at The Loyola University Museum of Art in conjunction with The Seldoms. Elson’s choreography has also been presented nationally and internationally by Performance Works NorthWest (Portland, OR), Collin College’s Dance Fusion (Plano, TX), In It For Life Productions (New York, NY), Muscle Memory Dance Theater (Dallas,TX), the American College Dance Festival (Urbana,IL), and Basso (Berlin, Germany). Elson’s collaborative roles with dance involve sound and video design, web design, video documentation and editing, curation, and arts administration. Elson has served as curator for Bizarre Bazaar: A Holiday Special hosted by Red Tape Theatre, The 2011 Chicago Fringe Artists Networking Night (CFANN), the Student/Alumni Stage for 1306: Ten Years Later at The Dance Center of Columbia College, and Dive – a festival event presented by The Open Space Project. Elson has had the pleasure to work with companies and artists such as Carrie Hanson/The Seldoms, tEEth, Joanna Rosenthal/ Same Planet Different World Dance Theater, Paige Cunningham-Caldarella, Colleen Halloran, Jonathan Meyer/Khecari Dance Theater, Liz Burritt, Matthew Hollis, Jyl Fehrenkamp, and Muscle Memory Dance Theatre.

Newman and Newman: Cara and Julia Newman have been dancing together for over two decades. Cara Newman received her BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011 and has been making work and performing in Chicago since then. Her work has been performed at Links Hall, the Fasseas White Box, and the ATTIC.  Cara began collaborating with her sister Julia Newman recently in an effort to investigate the quality of movement and references made as a result of two sisters creating work together. Julia Newman received her training at the Dance Centre in Lombard, IL and is currently a nursing student at Loyola University.  Cara and Julia would like to thank their parents for creating quite the duo.

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS:

Lauren Warnecke / Art Intercepts is a Chicago-based dance artist, writer, and educator. She trained in classical ballet and modern dance, earning a BA at Columbia College Chicago. Lauren completed an MS in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she is a full-time Clinical Instructor and Certified Personal Trainer (American College of Sports Medicine). Created in 2009 as a platform for dance-based discourse, Lauren owns and operates Art Intercepts. She is a contributing author/blogger at Dance Advantage, SeeChicagoDance, 4dancers, The L Stop, and the Huffington Post.  Lauren also freelances as a choreographer, grant writer, and production/stage manager, and enjoys baking scones and digging in the dirt.

Julie E. Ballard is a Chicago-based lighting designer, photographer, production/stage manager and sound/media designer.  She worked as the Lighting Director at the Dance Center of Columbia College for nearly 8 years, and is owner/operator of Overlap Lighting Productions.  As an independent, freelance artist, Ms. Ballard is an Artistic Associate with Signal Ensemble Theatre and Unnatural Spaces, as well as Technical Director for The Seldoms, Same Planet/Different World, and Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre.  Ms. Ballard has been a part of numerous festivals as well as American Dance Festival, and has toured nationally and internationally with David Dorfman Dance and The Seldoms.  Some of her favorite theatre designs include Cabaret (University of Florida), 1776 (Signal Ensemble Theatre) and I Sing (Whitehorse Theatre).  Ms. Ballard holds a BA in Theater, and earned her MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Florida. www.overlaplighting.com

Anthony Ingram is in his eighth season as an ensemble member with Signal.  His sound designs with the company include Princes of Waco, Hostage Song, Motion, East of Berlin/The Russian Play, Aces, Aftermath, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Six Degrees of Separation, The Birthday Party, Old Wicked Songs, Fool for Love, Hamlet, The Weir, Closer, The Dumb Waiter and The Zoo Story, She Stoops to Conquer and Seascape. He has stage-managed prior Signal Ensemble productions including Catch-22 and the original run of Waiting for Godot,  performed as Lucky in the remount of Godot, and directed Accidental Death of an Anarchist. He has been building, designing, performing in, directing and stage-managing productions in the Chicagoland area since his arrival in 2002. His other recent sound designs include Lifeline’s Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, The Factory’s Dead Wrong, Right Brain Project’s And They Put Handcuffs On The Flowers, Shattered Globe’s The Little Foxes, and Bailiwick’s Thrill Me.

ABOUT THE ENSEMBLE PROJECT:

Signal’s mission speaks to our commitment to challenge and support our distinguished ensemble in their artistic growth.  The season of shows provides opportunities to grow as an ensemble within the framework of the company’s vision, but we recognize our artists’ potential as individuals outside of that as well.

The Ensemble Project has been created to provide our ensemble members and associates with an outlet for their individual projects.  These are not limited to the theatrical medium and can be proposed at any time.  Upon approval, Signal provides the space, certain marketing opportunities and other help, which is determines on a case-by-case basis.  The individual is the primary producer on this venture and assumes the remaining production responsibilities.

For more information, visit http://www.signalensemble.com

ACT OUT OPENING: World Premiere - The Beautiful Dark at Red Twist

The Beautiful Dark A World Premiere by Erik Gernand Directed by Josh Altman Featuring Jeff-Award-winner, Jacqueline Grandt  What should parents do when it may seem that their son is planning a violent act--and the boy has become nearly incommunicado? PLAY Nancy's son, Jacob, announces he has failed out of college, and upon returning home, sleeps all day. From this deceitful calm, Nancy makes a startling discovery: Jacob didn't flunk out; he was kicked out for writing a graphic play about a killing spree on campus, carried out by a young man who sounds eerily like her son.  As the evidence mounts against Jacob, Nancy is forced to confront her darkest fears. Is her son capable of the unthinkable? And can she stop him before it's too late? CAST Jacob Bond (Charlie), Jacqueline Grandt (Nancy), Tommy Lee Johnston (Tom), Aaron Kirby (Jacob), Scott Olson (Mr. Marsh), Tiffany Williams (Sydney) STAFF Josh Altman (Director), Reed Motz (Assistant Director), Lauren Yarbrough (Stage Manager), Olivia Baker (Assistant Stage Manager), Jeff Glass (Production Manager), Alan Weusthoff (Tech Director), Kevin McDonald (Dramaturg), Dan Stratton (Set Designer), Christopher Kriz (Sound Designer), Garvin Jellison (Lighting Designer), Kelsey Ettman (Costume Designer), Jeff Shields (Prop Designer), Jan Ellen Graves (Graphic Designer), Chris Rickett (Fight Designer), Kelsey Melvin (Set Assistant), Charles Bonilla (Box Office Manager), E. Malcolm Martinez (Box Office Associate), Johnny Garcia (Associate Producer), Michael Colucci & Jan Ellen Graves (Producers) SCHEDULE Opens: Sat, July 27, 3pm Runs: Thu, Fri, Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 3pm Note: no evening performance on Sat, July 27, and no performance on Sun, July 28 Closes: Sun, Sep 1, 3pm Running Time: Approximately 1:45 total, which includes one intermission Previews: $15; Wed, Thu, Fri, July 24, 25, 26, at 7:30pm Tickets: Thursdays, $25; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, $30 (seniors & students $5 off) RESERVATIONS Call: 773-728-7529 Email: reserve@redtwist.org  Reservation link: www.redtwist.org Redtwist is located at 1044 W Bryn Mawr, 2 blks W of LSD, 2 blks E of the Red Line EL station Street parking (paybox until 9pm) is available on Bryn Mawr, side streets, and Broadway Please reserve 48 hours in advance. Credit cards accepted by phone and online via BuzzOnStage to guarantee seating.

ACT OUT OPENING: Belleville at Steppenwolf

STEPPENWOLF THEATRE COMPANY CONCLUDES 2012/13 SEASON WITH

BELLEVILLE BY AMY HERZOG, DIRECTED BY ANNE KAUFFMAN

CHICAGO-PREMIERE PERFORMANCES IN THE DOWNSTAIRS THEATRE, JUNE 27 – AUGUST 25, 2013

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes the 2012/13 subscription season with the Chicago premiere of Belleville by Amy Herzog, directed by Anne Kauffman. Belleville features ensemble members Alana Arenas and Kate Arrington with Chris Boykin and Cliff Chamberlain. Belleville begins previews June 27, 2013 (Opening night is July 7; Press performances are July 6 at 3pm and July 9 at 7:30pm) and runs through August 25 in Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Tickets ($20 – $78) go on sale Friday, April 26 at 11am.

Newly married American expats Zack (Chamberlain) and Abby (Arrington) live an enviably hip, do-gooder existence in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Belleville, Paris. But a single encounter one morning in the apartment they rent from their Senegalese landlords Alioune (Boykin) and Amina (Arenas) tips the scales of their relationship, revealing that the bubble they've built abroad is much closer to bursting than it appears. Dubbed a "thrillingly good" drama and a "nail-biting psychological thriller" by The New York Times, Amy Herzog's play asks unsettling questions about upheaval and the power of a lie.

Steppenwolf’s 2012/13 season, The Reckoning, explores the moment when we are called to account. Will our deeds be repaid? Will our secrets be revealed? Will we get what we deserve? Belleville is one of five stories about what happens when the past comes knocking.

The production team for Belleville includes: James Schuette (scenic design), Janice Pytel (costume design), Matt Frey (lighting design) and Richard Woodbury (sound design). Additional credits include: Erica Daniels (casting), Deb Styer (stage manager) and Christine D. Freeburg (assistant stage manager).

                           

Title                                         Belleville

Author                                      Amy Herzog

Director                                    Anne Kauffman

Featuring                                 Ensemble members Alana Arenas and Kate Arrington

with Chris Boykin and Cliff Chamberlain

Location                                   Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted St

Dates                                        Previews: June 27 – July 6

                                                            Opening: July 7 at 6pm

Regular Run: July 9 – August 25, 2013

Accessible Performances         American Sign Language Interpretation: August 4 at 7:30pm

Open Captioning: August 10 at 3pm

Audio Description and Touch Tour: August 18 at 1:30pm (3pm performance)

Curtain Times                         Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30pm.

Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3pm.

Wednesday matinees at 2pm on August 7, 14 and 21.

Note: There are no 7:30pm performances on July 4, 7; August 18 and 25. There is no 3pm performance on July 7 and the evening performance that day is at 6pm and is by invitation only.

Ticket prices                            Previews: $20 – $52

                                                            Regular Run: $20 – $78

20 for $20: Twenty $20 tickets are available for subscription shows on the day of the performance at 11am (Mon – Sat) and 1pm (Sun), by phone only at 312-335-1650. Limit 2 per person.

Rush Tickets: Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show.

Student Discounts: Limited $15 student tickets are available online. (Limit 2 tickets. Must present a valid student ID for each ticket). For additional student discounts, visit steppenwolf.org/students.

Group Tickets: All groups of 10 or more receive a discounted rate for any performance throughout the season.

Audience Services                   1650 N Halsted St, 312-335-1650

Online ticketing available at steppenwolf.org

Free post-show discussions are offered after every performance in the Subscription Season. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Performances featuring American Sign Language interpretation, open captioning and audio description are offered during the run of each play. Assistive listening devices and large-print programs are available for every performance.

OptionsHouse is the Corporate Production Sponsor of Belleville.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is America’s longest standing, most distinguished ensemble theater, producing nearly 700 performances and events annually in its three Chicago theater spaces—the 515-seat Downstairs Theatre, the 299-seat Upstairs Theatre and the 80-seat Garage Theatre. Formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, Steppenwolf has grown into an ensemble of 43 actors, writers and directors. Artistic programming at Steppenwolf includes a five-play Subscription Season, a two-play Steppenwolf for Young Adults season and three repertory series: First Look Repertory of New Work, Garage Rep and Next Up. While firmly grounded in the Chicago community, nearly 40 original Steppenwolf productions have enjoyed success both nationally and internationally, including Off-Broadway, Broadway, London, Sydney and Dublin. Steppenwolf has the distinction of being the only theater to receive the National Medal of Arts, in addition to numerous other prestigious honors including an Illinois Arts Legend Award and nine Tony Awards. Martha Lavey is the Artistic Director and David Hawkanson is the Executive Director. Nora Daley is Chair of Steppenwolf’s Board of Trustees. For additional information, visit steppenwolf.org, facebook.com/steppenwolftheatre and twitter.com/steppenwolfthtr.

FREE TICKETS FOR 7th ANNUAL CHICAGO DANCING FESTIVAL BECOME AVAILABLE NEXT WEEK #dance #multicultural

Ticket Release: July 16, 17 & 18
Chicago Dancing Festival: August 20–24

Tickets for the 7th annual Chicago Dancing Festival, the “Free-to-All” Festival at venues across downtown Chicago, become available to the general public next week, beginning Tuesday, July 16 at noon.  During the Festival’s five-day run there are five completely free performance showcases, though tickets for indoor events must be reserved in advance.  Co-produced by internationally renowned choreographer and native Chicagoan Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, the 2013 Chicago Dancing Festival features top ballet, modern, ethnic and rhythmic dance companies from Chicago and across the country, set to take place August 20 – 24.

Tickets will be released in a staggered format so that each venue releases its tickets on a different day, as follows: 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 12 Noon
Tickets for the “The Harris at 10! Anniversary Special” performance on Tuesday, August 20 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will be 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.

Wednesday, July 17 at 12 Noon
Tickets for the “Dancing in Chicago” performance on Thursday, August 22 at the Auditorium Theatre will be available in person at the Auditorium Theatre Box Office, 50 E. Congress Parkway, online at www.ticketmaster.com/auditorium or by calling (800) 982-ARTS.  Not available at Ticketmaster Outlets.  Limit two (2) tickets per order.

Thursday, July 18 at 12 Noon
Tickets for the “Solitaire – A Game of Dance” performances on Friday, August 23 at the Museum of Contemporary Art will be 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.

No tickets are needed for the outdoor “Celebration of Dance” Grand Finale performance at the Pritzker Pavilion, Saturday, August 24. 

Any 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 the performance, in person only.  All tickets will be held at Will-Call.  All seating for all venues is general admission. 

The full 2013 Chicago Dancing Festival schedule is below – program updates include the addition of Brooklyn Mack from the Washington Ballet and Tamako Miyazaki from Columbia Classical Ballet/Dortmund Ballet to the Tuesday and Saturday programs.

CHICAGO DANCING FESTIVAL 2013 SCHEDULE

Tuesday, August 20, 7:30 pm – “The Harris at 10! Anniversary Special”
Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive
·        Brian Brooks of Brian Brooks Moving Company, I’m Going to Explode by Brian Brooks
·        Chicago Human Rhythm Project, In the beginning…^ by Lane Alexander and Bril Barrett (Premiere)
·        Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Little mortal jump by Alejandro Cerrudo
·        The Joffrey Ballet, Son of Chamber Symphony by Stanton Welch
·        Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Crisis Variations+ by Lar Lubovitch
·        Brooklyn Mack from the Washington Ballet and Tamako Miyazaki from Columbia Classical Ballet/Dortmund Ballet, pas de deux from Diana and Actaeon by Agrippina Vaganova.

Wednesday, August 21, 6:30 pm – “Solitaire – A Game of Dance” (Gala Performance & Benefit)
Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Avenue
·        The Chicago Dancing Festival celebrates seven years with its annual Gala, an evening celebrating solo artists from the world of classical, contemporary, Bharata Natyam and Flamenco dance.  This fundraising benefit includes a performance and benefit with an opportunity to mingle with many of this year’s participating artists.  Tickets are $250 per person and can be purchased by emailing info@chicagodancingfestival.com.  Space is limited.

Thursday, August 22, 7:30 pm – “Dancing in Chicago”
Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway
• Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater* in residence at Northeastern Illinois University, Bolero by Dame Libby Komaiko
·        Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, piece to be announced
·        The Joffrey Ballet, Episode 31^ by Alexander Ekman (Chicago Premiere)
·        Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Transparent Things+ by Lar Lubovitch

Friday, August 23, 6 pm and 8 pm – “Solitaire – A Game of Dance” (The Art of the Solo)
Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Avenue
·        Samuel Lee Roberts of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, In/Side by Robert Battle
·        Brian Brooks of Brian Brooks Moving Company, I’m Going to Explode by Brian Brooks
·        Camille A. Brown of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, The Real Cool (a solo excerpt from Mr. Tol E. Rance) by Camille A. Brown
·        Julia Hinojosa of Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater*+, Ensueños de mi Caribe by Julia Hinojosa
·        Johnny McMillan, David Schultz and Jonathan Fredrickson of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, PACOPEPEPLUTO by Alejandro Cerrudo
·        Victoria Jaiani of The Joffrey Ballet, The Dying Swan by Mikhail Fokine
·        Krithika Rajagopalan of Natya Dance Theatre*, Sthithihi by Krithika Rajagopalan

Saturday, August 24, 7:30 pm – “Celebration of Dance”
Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph Street
·        Samuel Lee Roberts of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, In/Side by Robert Battle
·        Chicago Human Rhythm Project, In the beginning…^ by Lane Alexander and Bril Barrett
·        Giordano Dance Chicago, Two Become Three by Alexander Ekman (2012 CDF Commission)
·        Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater*, Bolero by Dame Libby Komaiko
·        The Joffrey Ballet, Interplay by Jerome Robbins
·        Philadanco*, Wake Up by Rennie Harris
·        Brooklyn Mack from the Washington Ballet and Tamako Miyazaki from Columbia Classical Ballet, pas de deux from Diana and Actaeon by Agrippina Vaganova.

All programs are subject to change.

*CDF Debut
^CDF Commission
+Presented with live music

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 2013 supporters including: InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Official Hotel Partner; Chicago Sun-Times, Print Media Sponsor; Museum of Contemporary Art; Harris Theater for Music and Dance; City of Chicago, Millennium Park; The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University; 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; and the Irving Harris Foundation.

Click here for more information on the Chicago Dancing Festival, its history and 2013 offerings. 

ChiIL Picks: Summerfest Milwaukee Closing This Weekend

Our neighbors to the north know how to throw a party.   We've been promoting Chi-town bands up at Milwaukee's Summerfest, all along.   This weekend is your last shot at Summerfest 2013, and there are more sweet bands on our radar playing there.

We're still waiting on final confirmation, but we plan to head up ourselves and shoot stills this Sunday.   If you haven't made it up there yet, go already.   This is your last chance till next year!


Bands On Our Radar:

There's a wide range of musicians, genres & action, so there's literally something for everyone.   Check out the full weekend lineup here.

Saturday Favorites:

John Mayer 
311 
Buddy Guy 
Briar Rabbit 

Division BMX Stunt Team


Sunday Favorites:

Bad Religion
Archie Powell & The Exports
Future Laureates (Tiki Hut Stage--small stage located on Summerfest map, it is by the lake, at 6PM)

Eagles

Jimmy Eat World
Trampled by Turtles

Division BMX Stunt Team

• EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

The U.S. Cellular® Connection Stage with Leinenkugel’s and FM 102/1 will once again host the Emerging Artists Series, highlighting emerging talent each evening from 3:00 - 7:30 pm. Check Summerfest.com for information on nightly competitions, Text-2-Screen™ technology, music downloads and much more. Vote for your favorite band each day at Summerfest!

• LUCILLE'S PIANO BAR

Lucille’s Piano Bar is open from Noon - 11:30 pm daily. Located near the South Gate, patrons can enjoy recorded music from Noon - 4:00 pm and piano performers from 4:00 - 11:30 pm, with the Dueling Pianos show starting at approximately 7:30 pm nightly. Additionally, there will be band performances on Saturday, June 29 and Saturday, July 6 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm.

Our ChiIL Picks For Summerfest:

• Sunday, July 7

Join hundreds of Fest-Fans to help form the Summertfest Smile in Urban Park on the last day of Summerfest 2013! 

If you have already registered:Follow the signs to the appropriate check-in table, where you will receive your red Summerfest t-shirt. You will then be instructed where to stand to form the Summerfest Smile.

If you did not pre-register:Arrive by 11:30 and queue in the "Walk-Ups" line. You will be registered and directed where to stand. IF YOU DID NOT PRE-REGISTER, YOU MUST WEAR A RED SHIRT TO PARTICIPATE! 

After checking-in, Summerfest staff will direct you to form the Summerfest smile. 

**Sunday is also Summerfest Fan Appreciation Day, and all attendees are admitted FREE until Noon. All participants will be able to enter the grounds for free.**

Presented by:

SUMMERFEST BIG SMILE PHOTO OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED BY FORWARDDENTAL

Help “The World’s Largest Music Festival” smile on in a big way! Register online to participate, then come down to Summerfest on Sunday, July 7 to pick up a red Smile On t-shirt and help create the Summerfest smile with hundreds of fest-fans. Participants will form the smile, be photographed from above and be a part of Summerfest history. More Info

• New for 2013, recycle to help keep the Big Gig® clean and get a cool t-shirt!  Patrons that visit the South Gate Information Booth during Summerfest and pledge to “Go Green at the Big Gig®” can pick up a bag to fill with recyclable cups, bottles and aluminum pints. Return the full bag to the same spot and get a cool t-shirt for keeping the festival clean!  Visit the South Gate Information Booth or #SFLive Lounge for more details.

Family Friendly Fun:

• VERLO MATTRESS SKYGLIDER

Take a ride on the Skyglider, a true family favorite! Located high above the main walkway, this gentle ride provides passengers with a scenic view of the Summerfest Grounds, Lake Michigan and the entertainment below. One-way and round-trip fares available.

• KLEMENT'S SAUSAGE PRESENTS THE ELIZABETH "BO" BLACK FAMILY FOUNTAIN WITH B93.3

Your day at Summerfest would not be complete without a stop at the “Splash Pad.” Kids of all ages splash and play the day away while keeping cool. In addition, each day from 1:00 - 2:00 pm the Racing Sausages will be available for photo opportunities (weather permitting). Listen to B93.3 for special Summerfest promotions.

• KOHL'S CAPTIVATION STATION

Returning in 2013, Kohl's Captivation Station, created in partnership with Kohl's Cares, will offer educational and musical experiences for children and families, featuring: 

• Discovery World - Kohl's Design It! Mobile Lab
• Milwaukee Art Museum - Kohl's Color Wheels
• Penfield Children's Center - Kohl's Building Blocks Workshop
• Milwaukee County Zoo - Kohl's Wild Theater

See the complete activity calendar >

• PADDLEBOAT WATER EXPERIENCE

Celebrate Summerfest on the water! Presented by Badger Meter, this family friendly activity provided by Lakeshore Paddle Sports will give patrons the opportunity to relax and take in views of the festival and downtown Milwaukee. From Noon – 7:00 pm each day, paddle around part of the lagoon for 30 minutes in boats that hold up to four (4) people. Located at the boat dock on the north end of the grounds, this is a can’t miss experience!