Doug Varone and Dancers to Return to The Dance Center This February

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Doug Varone and Dancers returns to the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, for an evening of repertoire February 8-10.

Bringing his company to the Dance Center for the first time since 2001, Varone makes a rare onstage appearance performing two solos that span his company's history. In 1987 he created a solo, set to Chopin's Nocturne #8 in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2, that explored the blur between pedestrian movement and pure dance and set in motion a vocabulary and style Varone has been mining ever since. Thirty years later, he choreographed its companion solo to Chopin's Nocturne in E minor, Op. 72, which premiered with its original at Jacob's Pillow this past summer. His performances of these two works thus serve as a look back at his company's origins and a look ahead to where the company is going.

The program also includes revivals of Varone classics and more recent works. Boats Leaving (2006), with music by Arvo Pärt, concerns community and an unfailing faith in the triumph of the human spirit, sharing a universal message that crosses diverse boundaries, languages and cultures and creating dialogues that embrace our similarities rather than our differences. Lux (2006), with music by Philip Glass, is "what dancing really feels like...sates you with dancing, but you're still reluctant to leave the feast," according toThe Washington Post. The duet "folded," which examines the fragile and precarious nature of intimacy to music by Julia Wolfe, is an excerpt from a cycle of five episodic vignettes, in the shelter of the fold (2016), that explore the many forms of faith and belief, as well as the acts of coping, realization, choice and the expectations attached to them.

For more than 30 years, Doug Varone and Dancers has devoted itself to the humanity and virtuosity of dance, reaching out to audiences well beyond the proscenium arch. The company believes this philosophy has contributed to its longevity, earning the reputation as one of the most respected dance companies working today. The recipient of 11 Bessie Awards, the company has toured to more than 125 cities in 45 states across the U.S. and in Europe, Asia, Canada and South America. Award-winning choreographer and director Doug Varone works in dance, theatre, opera, film and fashion. He is a passionate educator and articulate advocate for dance. His work is known for its emotional range, kinetic breadth and the diversity of genres in which he works.

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IF YOU GO:

THE DANCE CENTER PRESENTS Doug Varone AND DANCERS
Thursday-Saturday, February 8-10
at 7:30 p.m. at the Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Single tickets are $30;
subscribers to three or more performances during the season
and groups of 10 or more receive a 25 percent discount.
Tickets are available at 312-369-8330 and colum.edu/dancecenterpresents.
All programming is subject to change. The theatre is accessible to people with disabilities.

There is a post-performance conversation with the artists Thursday, February 8, 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.

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The Dance Center's 2017-18 season continues with the return of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, bringing its newest work to the Harris Theater for Music and Dance March 2 and 3, and the Process v. Product Festival featuring Chicago's Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak March 29-31 and Bebe Miller CompanyApril 5-7. In addition, the B-Series, a free mini-festival of hip-hop and street dance forms, takes place April 13-14.

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 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 at the Dance Center are supported, in part, by the Alphawood Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for the Arts and Culture at Prince, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley Jr. Family Foundation, the Irving Harris Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as well as the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council and the Crane Group. Special thanks to Friends of the Dance Center for their generous contributions to the Dance Center's work.

Photo of Doug Varone and Dancers by Erin Baiano.

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