The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, long committed to offering Chicago's small and mid-sized contemporary dance companies opportunities for artistic development and performance, is piloting an expansion of its Subsidized Theater Rental Program and a Production Residency program, thanks to a 2016-17 season grant from The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
"The Driehaus Foundation's commitment to cultural enrichment and the vitality of Chicago's small and mid-sized dance companies aligns with the Dance Center's dedication to the creation and presentation of contemporary dance works, dance education and community cultural development through the arts," said Bonnie Brooks, director and lead curator of the Dance Presenting Series. "We are delighted to partner with them in expanding our Subsidized Theater Rental Program, and we are especially excited to apply special funding to test the waters for a new production residency program for Chicago-based dance artists."
Since initiating the Subsidized Theater Rental Program during the 2000-01 season, the Dance Center has presented 25 mid-sized Chicago contemporary dance companies and independent artists in 43 performance engagements in its annual season. Each company has one week in the Dance Center's theater for rehearsal and technical preparation, as well as the performances. The Dance Center also provides promotional/marketing support, box office and front-of-house services and full access to its technical staff and equipment.
Support from The Driehaus Foundation has made it possible for the Dance Center to increase the number of companies benefiting from this program from two to three during the 2016-17 season, including Lucky Plush Productions (September 29-October 1), The Seldoms (October 13-15) and Chicago Human Rhythm Project (February 23-25).
American concert dance companies and artists mounting new work face the chronic challenge of limited access to fully equipped theaters that offer substantive time for production planning, lighting design, technical preparation and collaborative staging prior to production of the work. The Driehaus Foundation's additional support is making it possible for the Dance Center to test a program during the 2016-17 season to address this issue by making its theater, equipment and technical crew available for a period of time before the actual performance residency.
For this pilot program, the Dance Center will work with Chicago company
The Seldoms in the development of company member Philip Elson's new work, The Fifth, which investigates the origins and captors of a reimagined cyberspace, now deemed the fifth domain of war, where people become weaponized, masked and used as virtual political objects. The production residency, which takes place August 1-5, will involve time in the theater for lighting, sound and video projection designers and other technical collaborators to access the Dance Center's crew, space and equipment as they develop the staging for the work. The residency period also will include dancer rehearsals and a work-in-progress showing for an invitation-only audience, who will offer feedback.
"The commission of Philip Elson's new work marks a first for The Seldoms, wherein we are investing significantly in an emerging choreographic voice from within the ensemble," said Artistic Director Carrie Hanson. "We are making this commitment to express our confidence and interest in his art-making and honor his stellar contributions to my work during the past eight years. I am very excited for Philip to have the Dance Center's extensive support for the production/design residency and the premiere presentation. This advance period in the theater with production equipment, technical staff and designers, as well as the time to experiment, problem-solve, imagine and test the integration of design elements, is too rare in our field, but advances the artwork immeasurably."
"It's not very often that a young, emerging artist finds a place that feels like home for their artistic practice," said Elson. "Eight years ago I serendipitously found myself studying at the Dance Center while beginning to work with The Seldoms. These two institutions have consistently supported, challenged and advanced my artistic potential as my career begins to flourish on and off the stage. I'm incredibly honored to experience a first with these two organizations, a first-time evening-length commission by The Seldoms and a first-time local artist Production Residency at the Dance Center. We are forging new territory, further demonstrating our community's ability to strengthen artists and their creative processes at all levels in their careers. I'm grateful that this milestone and pivotal experience is happening with the people and places that I can call my artistic home and close family."
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago is the city's leading presenter of contemporary dance, showcasing artists of regional, national and international significance. The Dance Center has been named "Chicago's Best Dance Theatre" by Chicago magazine, "Best Dance Venue" by the Chicago Reader and Chicago's top dance venue in 2014 by Newcity, and Time Out Chicago cited it as "...consistently offering one of Chicago's strongest lineups of contemporary and experimental touring dance companies." Programs of The Dance Center are supported, in part, by the Alphawood Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The Irving Harris Foundation; Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley, Jr. Family Foundation, N.A., Trustee; the Arts Midwest Touring Fund; and the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Special thanks to
Friends of The Dance Center for their generous contributions to the work of The Dance Center.
For more information, visit
colum.edu/dancecenterpresents.
Photo: The Fifth performed by The Seldoms, photo by Kristie Kahns.
