Free Chicago Dancing Festival Tickets Available 7/16

Tickets for the 7th annual Chicago Dancing Festival, the "Free-to-All" Festival at venues across downtown Chicago, become available to the general public next week, beginning Tuesday, July 16 at noon. During the Festival's five-day run there are five completely free performance showcases, though tickets for indoor events must be reserved in advance. Co-produced by internationally renowned choreographer and native Chicagoan Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, the 2013 Chicago Dancing Festival features top ballet, modern, ethnic and rhythmic dance companies from Chicago and across the country, set to take place August 20 - 24.

Tickets will be released in a staggered format so that each venue releases its tickets on a different day, as follows:

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at 12 Noon

Tickets for the "The Harris at 10! Anniversary Special" performance on Tuesday, August 20 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will be available in person at the Harris Theater Box Office, 205 E. Randolph Drive or by calling (312) 334-7777. Limit two (2) tickets per order.

Wednesday, July 17 at 12 Noon

Tickets for the "Dancing in Chicago" performance on Thursday, August 22 at the Auditorium Theatre will be available in person at the Auditorium Theatre Box Office, 50 E. Congress Parkway, online at www.ticketmaster.com/auditorium or by calling (800) 982-ARTS. Not available at Ticketmaster Outlets. Limit two (2) tickets per order.

Thursday, July 18 at 12 Noon

Tickets for the "Solitaire - A Game of Dance" performances on Friday, August 23 at the Museum of Contemporary Art will be available in person at the MCA Stage Box Office, 220 E. Chicago Avenue or by calling (312) 397-4010. Limit two (2) tickets per order.

No tickets are needed for the outdoor "Celebration of Dance" Grand Finale performance at the Pritzker Pavilion, Saturday, August 24.

Any tickets unclaimed at 15 minutes prior to curtain time will be released to those in a Stand-by line. Stand-by lines begin one hour before the performance, in person only. All tickets will be held at Will-Call. All seating for all venues is general admission.

The full 2013 Chicago Dancing Festival schedule is below - program updates include the addition of Brooklyn Mack from the Washington Ballet and Tamako Miyazaki from Columbia Classical Ballet/Dortmund Ballet to the Tuesday and Saturday programs.

Established in 2007, the Chicago Dancing Festival was founded to elevate awareness of dance in Chicago, to increase accessibility to the art form and to provide inspiration for local artists. Its mission is to present a wide variety of excellent dance, enrich the lives of the people of Chicago and provide increased accessibility to the art form, thereby helping create a new audience. Its vision is to raise the national and international profile of dance in the city, furthering Chicago as the "dance capital of the world" (as Mayor Rahm Emanuel put it at the 2012 Chicago Dancing Festival).

Lar Lubovitch (Founder, Artistic Director) is one of America's most versatile and highly acclaimed choreographers and founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 45 years ago. In the years since, he has choreographed more than 100 dances for his New York-based company, which has performed in nearly all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 foreign countries. Born in Chicago, Mr. Lubovitch was educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York.

Jay Franke (Founder, Artistic Director) began his formal training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. In 1993, he was selected as a Finalist for the Presidential Scholar in the Arts and accepted into the Juilliard School. Upon receiving his BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School, Mr. Franke went to work with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, "THARP!" Mr. Franke has since danced with The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and was a leading dancer in the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 2005 to 2010.

The Chicago Dancing Festival is grateful for its 2013 supporters including: InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Official Hotel Partner; Chicago Sun-Times, Print Media Sponsor; Museum of Contemporary Art; Harris Theater for Music and Dance; City of Chicago, Millennium Park; The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University; The Robert and Jamie Taylor Foundation; David Herro and Jay Franke; Illinois Arts Council; National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Chicago Community Trust; Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; and the Irving Harris Foundation.

For more information on the Chicago Dancing Festival, its history and 2013 offerings, check out the newly redesigned www.chicagodancingfestival.com.

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