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Dance

Chicago Dancing Festival 2011

We got all the dance we could eat at this biggest-ever free fest, featuring companies and performers from around the country.

Ballet West dancers in Sinfonietta

Photo: Cheryl Mann

From where we were sitting, the fifth-anniversary Chicago Dancing Festival was a triumph, with enthusiastic crowds of thousands packing the Auditorium Theatre, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Harris Theater, the MCA Stage and the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park for five evenings of free shows and lectures, plus a full day of film screenings. Camera in hand, former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago member Cheryl Mann captured memorable moments all week long, while TOC Dance Editor Zachary Whittenburg took notes and talked with both audience members and participating artists. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, before a closing-night, outdoor performance blessed with perfect weather, promised an additional day of programming for the 2012 fest. Is it next August yet?

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The immortal Martha Graham
A cabaret act becomes the definitive, living history of one of dance’s great artists.
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Interview | Faye Driscoll
On roles as costumes, and on bringing methods and questions back from her work in theater
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Interview | Richard Move
The choreographer and TEDGlobal Fellow on how Martha Graham’s work sunk its claws into his mind.
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Review | Opening Night Gala and Benefit
An evening of duets provided a focused start to the week.
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Review | “Moderns”
An amped-up audience got what it came for.
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Review | “Moves”
There is only good dance and bad dance.
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Review | “Masters”
Technical difficulties couldn’t stop one great performance after another.
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Review | “Celebration of Dance”
Smart programming and perfect weather capped the week.
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