CHICAGO DANCE HISTORY PROJECT to Launch 4/27 with Free 'TAP OVER TIME' Event

A consortium of local dance advocates, launching an inquiry into the history of theatrical dance in Chicago, will feature tap dance in its first public event. Tap artists Reggio "The Hoofer" McLaughlin, Mark Yonally, and Starinah "Star" Dixon will engage in dialogue with Chicago Dance History Project Director Jenai Cutcher West about Chicago's distinct histories, personalities, and styles of tap dance.

Free and open to the public, "Conversations on Chicago Dance: Tap Over Time" will be the first in a series of multi-generational conversations about specific dance disciplines programmed by the Chicago Dance History Project. "Conversations on Chicago Dance: Tap Over Time" will take place at Old Town School of Folk Music at 7pm on Monday, April 27, and is part of Chicago Dance Month, a comprehensive calendar of dance-related events happening throughout April, spearheaded by Audience Architects in support of International Dance Day on April 29.

Currently at the beginning of its initial, three-year phase of research and public engagement, the Chicago Dance History Project will conduct in-depth interviews with dancers, choreographers, educators, and advocates to investigate how dance has shaped Chicago - and how, in turn, Chicago has shaped the world of dance - throughout the 20th century and into the present.

These recorded oral histories, along with a resulting body of collected and original research, will be made publicly available in order to more comprehensively disseminate the dance knowledge held within the city, to honor Chicago's rich and diverse history of dance performance and education, and to inspire future modes of preservation and innovation within the art form.

Following a competitive national search in fall 2014, Jenai Cutcher West was engaged as Project Director in January 2015. Executive Committee members of the Chicago Dance History Project are Ginger Farley, Executive Director of the Chicago Dancemakers Forum; Michael Kramer, Editor of Design, Publishing and New Media at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; art and dance historian Elizabeth A. Liebman; Susan Manning, Professor of English, Theatre and Performance Studies at Northwestern University; and Zachary Whittenburg, Manager of Communication at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Additional advisers, institutional liaisons, guest speakers, and other supporters will be announced as the Chicago Dance History Project continues.

Says Susan Manning: "We are thrilled to have Jenai Cutcher West as our Project Director. As a tap dancer, writer, and documentary filmmaker, she has exactly the range of skills that we need, and as a newcomer to the city, she refreshes our view of the richness of dance in Chicago."

Details regarding the April 27 event are as follows:

Conversations on Chicago Dance: Tap Over Time
Old Town School of Folk Music
Myron R. Szold Music & Dance Hall
4545 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
Monday, April 27 at 7pm
FREE

About Star Dixon - Chicago native Star Dixon is an original member of tap dance company M.A.D.D. Rhythms, as well as a solo performer. She has taught at tap festivals in Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles, and is on the faculty of M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy, After School Matters, and Lively Arts. Dance Spirit magazine calls her a "speed demon" and featured her as an "artist on the rise."

About Reggio McLaughlin - Reggio McLaughlin, better known as Reggio the Hoofer, began tap dancing in his teens on the streets and subways of Chicago. His investigations into the history of the form led to a 16-year partnership with vaudeville legend Ernest "Brownie" Brown, with whom he revived classic elements of the Cook and Brown vaudeville repertoire. McLaughlin serves as director of the tap dance program at the Old Town School of Folk Music, where he also produces an annual National Tap Dance Day celebration.

About Mark Yonally - Mark Yonally is artistic director of Chicago Tap Theatre. With the Bill Evans Dance Company and Especially Tap Chicago, he appeared at the St. Louis Tap Festival, the Chicago Human Rhythm Project, the Gus Giordano Jazz Dance World Congress and the Royal Opera House in Helsinki, Finland. In addition to leading ongoing classes locally, Yonally has taught at tap festivals throughout the U.S. and has served on the faculties of Oklahoma City University and Hope College. His writing has been published in Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher, and Dance Magazine.

About the Chicago Dance History Project - Organized in 2014, the Chicago Dance History Project seeks to investigate, preserve, and present the oral and corporeal histories of theatrical dance in Chicago and its vicinity. During an initial, three-year phase to conclude in late 2017, the Project will conduct in-depth interviews with area dancers, choreographers, educators, advocates, and others associated with the form. These recorded interviews will serve as a platform for establishing a body of original and collected research that examines how Chicago has shaped dance - and how, in turn, dance has shaped Chicago - throughout the 20th century and into the present.

By recording the rich dance histories of Chicago, the Project aims to honor the vast number of national and international dance artists with roots in the city; to surface lesser-known artists, teachers, and venues who have anchored Chicago's strong local dance community; and to link various strains of historical knowledge and traditions with present and future generations.

Materials created and collected by the Project will be accessible to the public in multiple ways. The Project's programs will also include events such as panel discussions, lecture-demonstrations, and performances in order to engage the local and national public with the Project and to generate additional materials.

The Project ultimately envisions a cumulative digital archive maintained in active partnership with organizations that already house significant resources for dance. The Project's work will not only result in this public archive, but will also form a basis from which larger narratives can be crafted, facilitating additional and third-party interpretations of the Project's data.

Pictured: Reggio McLaughlin. Photo by Steven E Gross.