Dance Companies
The Company’s purpose is to bring a high artistic level of dance to the community. The company accepts an elite few from The School of Dance West Ballet at auditions held in August each year for the upcoming season. Junior Apprentices are considered to be in training and therefore may or may not receive performing roles.
Members of DanceWest Ballet Company perform in The Nutcracker and a spring repertoire performance. Dancers also participate in the school concert presented every June, as well as attending the Regional Dance Association Festival held at one of the Mid States companies, usually in May. Company members participate in performances that are scheduled as opportunities for performances arise.
Ballet Minnesota is a nonprofit, Saint Paul-based professional dance company established in 1988 by Andrew and Cheyl Rist. It functions as the performing company of the Classical Ballet Academy, its official school. Ballet Minnesota’s founding vision was to create a dance organization serving the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, dedicated to creating an understanding and enjoyment of the dance arts through performance of the classic repertoire and exploration of new works.
CDR is unique compared to other dance schools and programs in the composition of the “company”. CDR is composed of an elite group of local, talented, and dedicated students 10-18 years old. Company members become versatile dancers, taking classes and rehearsing in various styles of dance. Members take class and rehearse as a unit. There is a limited amount of dancers accepted to create more individual attention from the director/teachers and to create more opportunities for each dancer to grow technically and artistically. The dancers show their love and passion for dance through their work ethic in the studio and on stage. Members are recognized at competition and conventions, winning many scholarships and stand-out dancer awards.
The Joel Hall Dancers express contemporary urban life through dance while educating, entertaining, and inspiring their audience. The signature dance style of JHD incorporates ballet, jazz, modern, funk, and “street dance” using contemporary jazz and house music to create an innovative and continuously evolving dance style that is appealing, relevant, and approachable for those frequently underserved by the arts.
The Joel Hall Dancers maintain a citywide, national, and international reputation, not only for their diversity and innovation, but also for their substantive sociological content and engaging aesthetic style. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Joel Hall, the Joel Hall Dancers have carried their unique yet universally accessible voice to venues that span the world.
Both JHD and its audience exhibit a rare diversified spectrum of cultural, ethnic, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds.
Lead by artistic director Jessica Deahr, Chicago Dance Crash has emerged as the premier fusion-style contemporary dance company in the Midwest. Emphasizing a unique mission of both athleticism and accessibility, the Crash aesthetic is most notably recognized by its combination of concert and hip hop techniques in works ranging from full length productions to repertory pieces and freestyles.
Aerial Dance Chicago is a nonprofit dance company dedicated to creation, performance, and instruction in the field of aerial dance. The mission of Aerial Dance Chicago is to enrich our community with the fine art of aerial dance. Through innovative choreography, engaging performances and energizing hands-on experiences, our programs educate, strengthen and connect people of all walks of life.
Aerial Dance Chicago inspires everyday people to challenge their own assumed limits to reveal undiscovered potential. Through highly original and physical programming, the company reawakens humanity’s craving for live, kinetic and creative experiences and contributes to the health and empowerment of the community.
Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre is a contemporary-based repertory company that presents the work of its Artistic Director and other choreographers, both established and emerging. The Company strives to present choreography that can support a humanistic voice while remaining in the physical world where dance is the primary ingredient; using the full moving body for expression. The Company maintains an ever-evolving body of work that is driven by theatricality, athleticism, tenacity and accessibility for its audience.
Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre (SPDW), led by artistic director Joanna Rosenthal, is a Chicago-based contemporary dance ensemble that has built a strong reputation for work that is evocative, entertaining and engaging. SPDW has received critical acclaim for its varied repertory and powerful performers. SPDW presents the choreography of artists from across the country, both seasoned veterans as well as up-and-coming innovators, with styles that range from classical to post-modern dance. The diverse spectrum of work can range from humorous satire to high-octane virtuosity, but never ceases to delight audiences with performances that are dynamic and inspiring. Contributing artists include Peter Carpenter, Faye Driscoll, Jan Erkert, Carl Flink, Ashleigh Leite, Molly Shanahan, Jeff Hancock, Shirley Mordine, Sam Watson, Shapiro and Smith Dance and to name a few.
University Ballet of Chicago is a student-run ballet company affiliated with the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. We proudly offer classical ballet training and performance opportunities for dancers of diverse backgrounds and abilities.
UBallet is an expert in storytelling. Our past performances — from the modern Spartacus to the opulent Sleeping Beauty — have been filled with characters delicate and cute, royal and grotesque. We strive to bring stories alive through both classical movement and heartfelt theatricality. Our shows have delighted audiences of all ages and levels of familiarity with dance for more than a decade.
We invite you to attend our free adult ballet classes, which are held in Ida Noyes Hall on the UChicago campus. Twice a year in the fall and late winter, we hold auditions for our semiannual productions. All who audition are cast.
Founded in 2013 by Artistic Director Nick Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago is a contemporary dance company dedicated to a bold and progressive world of movement. In less than three years, the company has developed a diverse and respected repertoire. With works by distinguished choreographers Sidra Bell, Mónica Cervantes, Marguerite Donlon, Brian Enos, Robyn Mineko Williams, Banning Bouldin, Harrison McEldowney, Fernando Melo, Ohad Naharin, and Pupillo, Visceral Dance Chicago continues to challenge audiences’ expectations. In January of 2015, Visceral Dance Chicago was named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch, recognizing the company’s accomplishments and potential in the national community. “Visceral Dance Chicago breathes life into the Chicago arts community with their ability to intertwine complex human emotions with the raw beauty of dance and physical movement.” (Chicago Stage Standard)
We are a Chicago-based dance company that values making intelligent, visually rich dance theater driven by inquiry. We ground our inquiry in contemporary issues and the history of art and ideas, toward our pursuit of bold, exacting and potent physicality.
Under Carrie Hanson’s direction, the company is committed to bringing audiences an expanded experience of dance that ignites thought and understanding of real-world issues. With dance at the center of the work, the company’s vision extends to a total action and environment and includes collaboration with practitioners in fields as diverse as architecture, installation, video, sound, and fashion.With full-length works on pressing issues, such as the recent economic recession and the ongoing climate change debate, they have built a reputation for “well-crafted and researched works that don’t hold forth a political agenda, but look instead at how these towering issues reflect back on our own humanity” (New City, which named The Seldoms Best Local Dance Company in 2012).