BRENDAN FERNANDES: IN THE ROUND to Return to Driehaus Museum This Fall
The Chicago residency, curated by Stephanie Cristello, will feature performances by Xenia Mansour, Hanna DiLorenzo, and Kara Hunsinger.
The Driehaus Museum has revealed the Fall activation dates for Brendan Fernandes: In the Round. As the Museum's first artist-in-residence, Fernandes transforms the Museum's 1926 Murphy Auditorium into a dynamic site for dance, movement, sound, and sculptural installation.
Organized by guest curator Stephanie Cristello, Brendan Fernandes: In the Round is part of the Museum's A Tale of Today series that places contemporary art in dialogue with the art, architecture, and design of the Museum. Brendan Fernandes: In the Round programs are free and reservations are encouraged at driehausmuseum.org.
Following its launch in April 2026, this Fall's In the Round programming brings back Fernandes' critically acclaimed performance commission Score for the Murphy Auditorium and presents the work of three dance artists in Concerts of Dance, a series of open rehearsals, workshops, and performances spotlighting collaborators from Chicago's independent dance community, Xenia Mansour, Hanna DiLorenzo, and Kara Hunsinger.
In the Round is inspired by the pioneering spirit of New York City's Judson Dance Theater and their Concerts for Dance. The Judson Dance Theater was an influential collective of choreographers, composers, filmmakers, and artists in 1960s New York who revolutionized dance by rejecting classical technique in favor of everyday gesture and shared experimentation. Initially staged in the sanctuary of Judson Memorial Church between 1962 and 1966, the group's early performances offered a radical blueprint for creative freedom. Decades later, Fernandes reimagines this legacy for the present, re-situating its spirit in the Driehaus Museum's 1926 Murphy Auditorium.
Dancers interact with minimalist site-specific installations developed in collaboration with AIM Architecture (Antwerp, Shanghai, Chicago) and textile-based works by The Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia), echoing the multidisciplinary ethos of Judson Dance Theater. The installation places modern minimalism in dialogue with the Museum's Gilded Age ornamentation, creating an interactive stage setting for visitors to experience history, performance, and space from multiple perspectives.
Brendan Fernandes: Score for the Murphy Auditorium
Wednesday, September 16, 4–6 p.m.
Wednesday, October 14, 5–7 p.m.
Saturday, November 14, 3–5 p.m.
In this critically acclaimed durational work choreographed by Brendan Fernandes, an ensemble of performers from across Chicago's vibrant independent dance community gather to create a dynamic site for sculptural installation, movement, and sound inspired by the pioneering spirit of New York City's Judson Dance Theater.
For the culminating presentation on Saturday, November 14, Fernandes is joined by composer and sound artist Alex Inglizian and a group of musical collaborators, who will perform a live score in the Murphy Auditorium as the dancers complete the final activation of the project. Featuring a prepared piano inspired by the experimental compositions of John Cage alongside synthesizers and electronic instruments, the performance creates a rich sonic environment that unfolds in dialogue with movement, sculpture, and architecture.
September
Open Rehearsal: Xenia Mansour
Wednesday, September 16, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; Thursday, September 17, 2–4:45 p.m.; Friday, September 18, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Choreographer Xenia Mansour and collaborator Faith Balderrama stage an open rehearsal of was, still is. Observe the artists as they adapt the work for Murphy Auditorium ahead of its premiere on Saturday, September 19.
Movement Workshop: Xenia Mansour
Thursday, September 17, 12–2 p.m.
Choreographer Xenia Mansour and collaborator Faith Balderrama host a workshop designed for dancers and movement artists. Participants will learn phrase material from was, still is and engage with Mansour's creative process through improvisation, journaling, and guided exploration. This workshop is intended for movement artists. Advance registration required.
Xenia Mansour: Open Dress Rehearsal + Artist Talkback
Friday, September 18, 3:15–4:30 p.m.
Watch an open dress rehearsal of Xenia Mansour's work was, still is before its Murphy Auditorium premiere. Following the run-through, Brendan Fernandes moderates a conversation with the artists on the work's themes, creative process, and adaptation.
Xenia Mansour: was, still is
Saturday, September 19, 1–2 p.m.
Xenia Mansour and collaborator Faith Balderrama presents was, still is, a durational, site-specific performance that will be newly adapted for the Murphy Auditorium. Originally created as a ten-minute work for New Dances 2025 on a proscenium stage, audiences are invited to enter, exit, and move through the Murphy freely, encountering the work patiently from multiple vantage points. Rather than a fixed performer–audience relationship, the work creates a porous environment in which dancers, viewers, and the architecture are all in dialogue. Viewers are not bound to seats or a linear narrative, prompting questions: What does it mean to be "unfinished"? Is it infinite? What is not "there" for us right now but should have been? And with that, what remains? Diving deeper into these questions and movement vocabulary, the work aligns deeply with the legacy of Judson Dance Theater, Fernandes's inspiration for In the Round.
After Hours | Brendan Fernandes House Dance Party
Saturday, September 19, 8 p.m.
Brendan Fernandes invites audiences to connect during a dynamic evening that blurs performance, sound, and installation. This after-hours house dance party will immerse guests in the exhibition through music, movement, and collective experience. A live DJ set brings the Murphy Auditorium's historic space to life. Tickets and VIP opportunities to be announced soon.
October
Open Rehearsal: Hanna DiLorenzo
Wednesday, October 14, 12–4 p.m.; Thursday, October 15, 2–4 p.m.
Hanna DiLorenzo hosts an open rehearsal of Behind Closed Doors (Part I) and Where Absence Grows (Part II), two works from her ongoing Phenomenology Series.
Movement Improvisation Workshop: Hanna DiLorenzo
Thursday, October 15, 12–1 p.m.
A movement improvisation workshop with Hanna DiLorenzo offers dancers an opportunity to deepen both creative and technical skills through somatic practice, structured improvisation, and rigorous movement exploration. This workshop is intended for general audiences and movement practitioners. Advance registration required.
Live Filming: Hanna DiLorenzo
Friday, October 16, 12–4 p.m.
Hanna DiLorenzo conducts a live filming of Where Absence Grows (Part II) from her ongoing Phenomenology Series.
Hanna DiLorenzo: Behind Closed Doors
Saturday, October 17, 1–2 p.m.
Hanna DiLorenzo will present two works from her ongoing Phenomenology Series. Behind Closed Doors, which premiered in June 2025 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts as part of New Dances 2025, is a performance that examines how shared family trauma fractures into conflicting truths and seeks reconciliation through embodied empathy and collective understanding. Where Absence Grows, created for Little Fire Artist Collective, is a phenomenological study of the ways grief becomes a shifting landscape as dancers navigate the cyclical rhythms of loss, memory, and renewal. This performance will be part of the Driehaus Museum's Open House Chicago weekend events.
November
Open Rehearsal: Kara Hunsinger
Wednesday, November 11, 12–4 p.m.; Thursday, November 12, 12–1 p.m.
Kara Hunsinger hosts an open rehearsal of new work Return to Us, a live performance examining the psychic and social dissonance of contemporary life under constant digital mediation.
Movement for Anyone Workshop: Kara Hunsinger
Wednesday, November 11, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Movement for Anyone is a guided improvisational class designed for non-dancers led by Kara Hunsinger. Through simple movement prompts and sensory exploration, participants develop awareness, attention, and connection with themselves and others. Drawing from principles of movement meditation, the session supports physical mobility, nervous system regulation, and emotional well-being. Participants experience how movement, like conversation, can foster presence, release stress, and create meaningful human connection. This workshop is intended for non-dancers. This event requires pre-registration.
Kara Hunsinger: Return to Us
Friday, November 13, 1–2 p.m.
Kara Hunsinger presents a solo variation of her new work entitled Return to Us, a live performance examining the psychic and social dissonance of contemporary life under constant digital mediation. We congratulate a friend on an achievement, then repost footage of state violence. We take in news of war, genocide, and climate collapse while presenting images of perfection, productivity, and belonging. Hunsinger's work interrogates the normalization of such digital behavior and considers the cost of performing stability while everything feels fractured. Tracing an arc from disconnection to reconnection, Return to Us questions how easily we surrender agency to the rectangle in our hands.
Live Filming: Kara Hunsinger
Friday, November 13, 2–4 p.m.
Kara Hunsinger conducts a live filming of Return to Us.