American Rhythm Center to Host Free Classes at Fine Arts Building, 9/5-8

Celebrating a year of offering Chicago a range of dance classes at its innovative, collaborative dance/arts facility, the American Rhythm Center(ARC), a program of the Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP), hosts a Free 4 All, four days of free dance classes on the third floor of the historic Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Avenue. The event takes place Thursday-Sunday, September 5-8.

The Free 4 All features free classes for all ability levels in a range of genres and styles, including tap, jazz, flamenco, classic Indian, swing, Latin, reggae soul and more. Teaching the classes are professionals and young dancers representing the ARC's community partners and other affiliated groups, including Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute, (Isadora) Duncan Dance Chicago, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, FootworKINGz, Gang of Toes, Tommye Giacchino, Kalapriya Center for Indian Performing Arts, M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Dave Maxx Steppin, Muntu Dance Theatre, Onye Ozuzu of Columbia College Chicago, Stick and Move Dance Crew and more.

The ARC is Chicago Human Rhythm Project's collaborative initiative to provide a shared, affordable and sustainable education, rehearsal and administrative facility for several leading Chicago arts organizations. The aim is to offer diverse, high-quality dance and movement classes to the general public while centralizing the education programs, rehearsal space and administrative offices of several core groups, as well as additional emerging companies and independent artists. The fall 2013 session of classes begins Monday, September 9.

Chicago Human Rhythm Project's "Free 4 All" takes place Thursday and Friday, September 5 and 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday andSunday, September 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to noon at the American Rhythm Center at the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., 3rd floor. For information or an updated class schedule, visit arcchicago.org or call 312-922-1272.

Founded in 1990, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) builds community by presenting American tap dance and contemporary percussive arts in world-class and innovative performance, education and community outreach programs. During the last 23 years, CHRP has produced multiple community-based collaborations involving shared revenue programs, concerts and touring opportunities, including:

- annual National Tap Dance Day concerts, featuring an array of tap and percussive dance artists
- a shared revenue program designed to assist Chicago's budding tap community to build capacity through audience development, created in 2001
- Thanks 4 Giving, another innovative shared revenue program launched in 2005 as part of its annual Global Rhythms concerts at the Harris Theater, through which CHRP has partnered with more than 100 Chicago-based nonprofits to raise funds for a wide variety of service agencies
- participation in the 5th Anniversary Beijing International Dance Festival, assembling 70 artists to represent the United States
- establishment of the American Rhythm Center (ARC), providing a shared, affordable and sustainable education, rehearsal and administrative facility for several leading Chicago arts organizations in the historic Fine Arts Building
- curating the first ever, full-length performance of concert tap dance on a main stage of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 7, 2012

CHRP's vision is to establish the first global center for American tap and percussive arts, which will create a complete ecosystem of education, performance, creation and community in a state-of-the-art facility uniting generations of diverse artists and the general public. For information visit chicagotap.org.