Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago Welcomes Mordine & Company Dance Theater, Now thru 10/5

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago continues its 40th season with the collaborative work of Mordine & Company Dance Theater, the Midwest's longest-running contemporary Dance Company. Performances are today, October 3-5 at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Mordine & Company also opens The Dance Center's 15th season of FamilyDance Matinees, featuring family-oriented performances and a movement workshop with the artists, Saturday, October 5.

Mordine & Company revives "I haven't gone there...".Inspired by Commedia dell'Arte, the piece features six performers and four musicians who, like troubadours, lure the audience on a journey to unknown places, with unexpected encounters. Members of the maverick marching band Mucca Pazza perform Mark Messing's score live, with text by Bryan Saner of the former Goat Island Performance Group.

Also on the program is All at Once/Acts of Renewal, revised since its 2012 premiere. According to Mordine, "This piece is informed by how news of socially transformative events and intimate happenings in the lives of strangers is available almost instantaneously. We struggle to interpret surprising, contrasting and simultaneous realities that can be jarring, sometimes comical or shocking and may test our humanity and sense of self." Shawn Decker, a frequent collaborator, has contributed a score that encompasses music and sounds from earlier and current times.

"I haven't gone there..." and All at Once/Acts of Renewal each present a similar question: How do we confront what is ahead of us and move through a time of extreme transformation?

Residency activities
There will be a post-performance conversation with the artists Thursday, October 3 and a pre-performance talk with Shirley Mordine Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m., both free to ticket holders. Mordine also will participate in The Dance Center's new DanceMakers series, which features leading contemporary dance artists offering insight into their choreographic process, on Wednesday, October 2 from 10 a.m. to noon at the American Rhythm Center, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. In celebration of The Dance Center's 40th season, DanceMakers sessions are free. Preregistration is required.

Mordine & Company Dance Theater is the Midwest's longest-running contemporary Dance Company, celebrating its 44th season. Under the direction of Shirley Mordine, the company has produced works that have won critical acclaim with their coalition of choreography and theatre. Praised for original choreography combining wit and sheer movement with technical sophistication, the company's work has been described as "a two-edged sword of comedy and drama" and "adventurous, audacious, gutsy, and energetic."

This is Mordine & Company's fifth appearance at The Dance Center since the year 2000; the company previously performed almost every season of The Dance Center's existence.

The Dance Center presents Mordine & Company Dance Theater October 3-5, 2013, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Single tickets are $26-30; subscribers who order tickets to three or more performances during the 2013-14 season save 20%. Mordine & Company's FamilyDance Matinee takes place Saturday, October 5 at 3 p.m., with the free movement workshop beginning at 2:15 p.m. Admission for children 12 and younger is free; adult tickets are $15. All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. For information, call 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenter.