Joe Goode Performance Group Returning to The Dance Center

A favorite of Chicago dance audiences, Joe Goode Performance Group returns to The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago to perform the Chicago premiere of the dance-theatre work Hush. Performances take place March 10-12, 2016 at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.

Joe Goode's evening-length Hush (2013) pushes the boundaries of dance theatre, with narrative, drama, music and dance playing equally strong roles. The dancers' voices, a driving musical score and the unique presence of a Foley (sound effects) artist create a provocative soundscape for the story of six interlocking characters in a rundown bar troubled by their hushed secrets. The company developed the text in Hush from the real stories of people they interviewed. Contains mature content.

"Hush feels like chamber music. It's condensed, tight, and weaves a spell like a spider's web," wrote Rita Feliciano in the San Franciso Bay Area Guardian. "The six dancers of the Joe Goode Performance Group knocked the ball out of the park... The show is tight, ready for prime-time, with Broadway levels of production...your eye is led in a fascinating dance around the space, from shadows to highlights, which corresponds to the emotional curves of a drama about having to bite your tongue and say nothing," wrote Paul Parish in the Bay Area Reporter.

Founded in 1979, Joe Goode Performance Group promotes understanding, compassion and tolerance among people through the innovative use of dance and theatre, as interpreted by the artistic vision and work of Joe Goode. In Goode's words: "We want to be a site for innovation, to take dance theatre out of the traditional theatre setting and to place it in a more living, breathing relationship to the viewer." Goode was named a United States Artists Fellow for 2008, one of only five national dance artists so honored, selected for his unflagging commitment to innovation and experimentation in dance theatre. In 2007 Goode received the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. This is the company's sixth appearance at The Dance Center.

A post-performance conversation with the artists takes place Thursday, March 10, and a pre-performance talk with Goode takes place Friday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m., both free to ticket holders. Additional residency activities with community partners and Columbia College Chicago students take place throughout the week leading up to the performance weekend. Residency activities of the Joe Goode Performance Group are funded, in part, by the Chicago Community Trust.

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 Alphawood Foundation; Engaging Dance Audiences, a program administered by Dance/USA and made possible with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; The Chicago Community Trust; The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; The Irving Harris Foundation; the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; and the Arts Midwest Touring Fund. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and The City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Special thanks to Friends of The Dance Center.

The Dance Center presents Joe Goode Performance Group March 10-12, 2016, Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at The Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Single tickets are $30; subscriptions to three or more performances during the season offer a 20 percent savings. All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. For information, call 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenterpresents

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