Red Clay Dance Company Reveals 18th Season Featuring FREEDOM SQUARE and More
Vershawn Sanders-Ward's evening-length work explores the stories of missing and murdered Black women and girls.
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Red Clay Dance Company has unveiled its Season 18: Spectrum programming, including Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward's powerful evening-length work Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar at Northwestern University's Wirtz Center in Evanston in October 2026, and a spring concert featuring work by Sanders-Ward alongside Rena Butler, Beatrice Capote and Bebe Miller at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago in April 2027.
Tickets for performances of Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar, October 1-3, 2026, are now available starting at $42, with discounts for students and seniors.
In its 18th season, Red Clay Dance Company celebrates the theme Spectrum, a reflection of how one bold vision has grown into a vibrant movement. Like light passing through a prism, the Company's founding mission has expanded into a diverse community of artists, students, educators, audiences, partners and supporters—each bringing their own unique brilliance to a shared purpose. Season 18: Spectrum honors the collective power of Artivism and the many voices that shape Red Clay Dance Company's story, celebrating the full spectrum of Artivists whose creativity, resilience and collective action are shaping a more just, vibrant and connected future.
Season 18: Spectrum kicks off with a performance from Red Clay Dance Company during the free Chicago Live Festival at Navy Pier on Saturday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Fall 2026 concert Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar
In October, the Company stages a reprisal of Vershawn Sanders-Ward's powerful evening-length work Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar at Northwestern University's Wirtz Center (1949 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL) from October 1–October 3, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. daily. A post-show discussion will be held in partnership with the Black Arts Consortium on opening night, October 1, moderated by Northwestern University Professor Thomas F. DeFrantz.
Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar honors the lives, stories and enduring legacy of missing and murdered Black women and girls. Performed by the award-winning Red Clay Dance Company ensemble, with original music by acclaimed Chicago musician Jamila Woods and costume design by Shaqui Reed and Alyna Michelle, the production blends Afro-contemporary dance, storytelling, digital media and immersive design to create a powerful and deeply resonant experience.
Inspired by The Black Girlhood Altar—the mixed-media installation created by A Long Walk Home artists Scheherazade Tillet and Robert Narcisco—this dance performance incorporates elements of the altar into its scenic and visual design, transforming the stage into a living sanctuary for remembrance, healing and collective action.
Spring 2027 concert at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago
Season 18: Spectrum continues with concerts from the Red Clay Dance Company ensemble at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago (1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago) on April 8 and April 9, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. daily. The Company will perform Her Table by Rena Butler, Field: New Ground by Bebe Miller, Written on the Flesh by Vershawn Sanders-Ward, and a new work by Beatrice Capote.
Paint the Town Red fundraiser
Red Clay Dance Company's season concludes with its annual Paint the Town Red Fundraiser on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. at Red Clay Dance Center (808 E. 63rd Street, Chicago). Themed A Spectrum Celebration, this evening of entertainment, community engagement and philanthropy supports Red Clay Dance Company's mission to awaken Glocal Artivism and empowerment through dance, and build the Company's 1 Million Artivists Strong initiative to connect and activate supporters who believe the arts can strengthen communities and move justice forward.
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