CHICAGO DANCE NEWS COVERAGE

Chicago Human Rhythm Project will close its STOMPING GROUNDS series at the DuSable Black History Museum with a National Tap Dance Day concert honoring Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson and the centennials of Miles Davis and John Coltrane....

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater will return to The Auditorium for the crowning performance of its 30th anniversary season. Learn more about the show here!...

Drury Lane Theatre has appointed Matthew D. Carney as its new Artistic Director. A longtime collaborator and key member of the artistic team at Drury Lane, Carney steps into the role following more than a decade of artistic contributions....

Chicago Repertory Ballet will present its 2026 Spring Series in May. The program features two world premieres and a revival of The Rite of Spring. Performances will take place in Chicago for one weekend only....

South Chicago Dance Theatre will present its ninth annual home season performance, An Evening with South Chicago Dance Theatre, featuring three electric world premieres by award-winning choreographers....

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will celebrate Aszure Barton, Charlie Gardner, and Patti Eylar at the Spotlight Ball 48 on May 16, 2026, at the Harris Theater, recognizing their contributions to dance....

The Joffrey Ballet has completed a $2.5 million renovation of its Chicago headquarters, Joffrey Tower. The project includes new interior design by Elva Rubio and environmental graphics by artist Bob Faust....

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present a series of performances and workshops in New York City and across the United States, starting March 2026. The tour will also introduce the 'Finding Grace' curriculum aimed at schools nationwide....

Visceral Dance Chicago will return to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago for SPRINGTHIRTEEN, a mixed repertory program running April 17–19. Performances will take place April 17 and 18 at 7:30 p.m. and April 19 at 2:00 p.m....

The Joffrey Ballet will conclude its 2025–26 season with the Chicago premiere of Eugene Onegin, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov. The full-length work will run for 10 performances only, June 4–14, 2026, at the Lyric Opera House, 20 North Upper Wacker Drive....

The Joffrey Ballet is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The current offering is called Icons. What a gift to the audience. I don’t know if Robert Joffrey had any idea what his company has become. Icons recreate 4 different ballets from different decades over the 20th Century....

South Chicago Dance Theatre will present three world premieres by acclaimed choreographers Natasha Adorlee, David Dorfman, and Kia S. Smith at their annual home season concert....

The Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet will present five world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey's national call for emerging artists to submit applications for the Winning Works Choreographic Competition....

WH&D has revealed the artists and details for its First DrafT 2026 program, an event which will focus on new works by emerging choreographers. The event will feature 11 new works created by 11 award winning Chicago-area choreographers....

Trinity Irish Dance Company returns to The Auditorium for a one-night-only performance in Chicago. The mixed-repertory program includes a world premiere, Chicago premieres, and live music by the TIDC band. ...

The Seldoms, which presents multimedia performances exploring complex issues, will perform the Chicago premiere of Founding Artistic Director Carrie Hanson's Floe....

World renowned ambassadors of Dance and Culture, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to its Chicago home – The Auditorium, Chicago's Landmark stage at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive – with four dynamic performances debuting six new works, April 24-26, 2026. ...

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre will continue its Inside/Out performance series in early 2026 and will serve as company-in-residence at Columbia College Chicago’s Dance Center for its Spring Concert Series....

A program of works created by the company on the company and dancers within Visceral, Within performs at Chicago's Ann Barzel Theater from November 14 to 16....

The Joffrey Ballet will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Christopher Wheeldon’s The Nutcracker this December with 27 performances at the Lyric Opera House (20 N. Upper Wacker Dr.), running December 5–28, 2025....

The Paramount Theatre has announced three large-scale productions set to dazzle audiences in 2026: the Elvis Tribute Artist Spectacular (January 17), Riverdance 30 – The Next Generation (March 27–29), and Shen Yun (April 2–4). ...

Chicago Repertory Ballet will present the world premiere of The Capulets November 7–16, 2025 at Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Directed and choreographed by Wade Schaaf, the Shakespeare-inspired ballet reimagines Romeo and Juliet from Lady Capulet’s perspective, with a cast led by Miriam-Rose Le...

Giordano Dance Chicago will bring its 63rd Ignite the Soul season to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie on October 18–19, 2025. The program will include Al Blackstone’s Gershwin in B, Brock Clawson’s Give & Take, Simon Schuh’s Interlinked, and more. ...

Wrightwood 659 will present The Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S. October 3–December 20, 2025. The exhibition celebrates The Joffrey Ballet’s 70th Anniversary with rare archival footage, costumes, and documents, tracing the company’s role as a model for American ballet....

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance will present Joffrey at the Harris: Matters of the Heart this November as part of its 2025–26 Harris Theater Presents season....

Chicago Repertory Ballet will present the world premiere of its original ballet, The Capulets. The Capulets focuses on the fraught relationships and power dynamics of the Capulet family. Learn more and see how to purchase tickets....

The Joffrey Ballet will open its 70th anniversary season with the U.S. Premiere of Liam Scarlett’s Carmen, a tale of love, betrayal, and defiance set within the gritty confines of a cigarette factory in 1930s Spain. Learn more!...

Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre (CRDT) has announced its 2025–2026 season, a dynamic slate of programming that reflects the company’s mission to explore identity through movement and music....

Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Joffrey Ballet have announced a seven-year extension of their partnership, officially securing the Joffrey’s residency at the historic Lyric Opera House through June 30, 2034....

The Sarah Siddons Society is now accepting applications for its 2025 Professional Development Grants, offering twelve $500 awards to emerging Chicago-area theatre artists. Designed to support training, headshots, or other career needs, the program complements the Society’s existing scholarship sup...

Mandala South Asian Performing Arts will continue its 10th anniversary season with free performances in Chicago in July and the creation of a community mural in Naperville in July and August....

Red Clay Dance Company has announced programming for its 17th season, featuring a world premiere at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the return of its celebrated La Femme Dance Festival at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. ...

The Joffrey Ballet concludes its 69th season with two-time Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's enchanting and family-friendly Alice's Adventures in Wonderland....

The Auditorium to present Chicago's own Hiplet Ballerinas in the company's first solo performance at the venue. Titled Dipped in Versatility, the mixed repertory program is presented one night only Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 PM....

The Auditorium will welcome back the eclectic energy of hometown favorite South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) with IN/WITHIN, a mixed repertory program in one performance only Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 PM. ...

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago has announced 16 by Red Clay Dance Company for three performances only, April 17-19, 2025, featuring Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward....

The Auditorium will present a special evening with Parsons Dance, the New York-based contemporary American dance company founded in 1985, and internationally renowned for its athletic ensemble work, boundary-pushing artistry and life-affirming joy....

Thanks to an $792K award from the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, bolstered by more than $350K in private funds, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) will make critical improvements and expand its community cultural center, the Mayfair Arts Center (MAC), to support arts education prog...

The Joffrey’s 2025-2026 season at Lyric Opera House has been revealed, featuring U.S. and Chicago premieres by Liam Scarlett and Yuri Possokhov, and a celebration of dance legends Martha Graham, Glen Tetley and more. Learn more!...

See Chicago Dance has announced its calendar of events and happenings in 2025 including its new podcast series, Hear Chicago Dance, new board of directors members, the return of Chicago Dance Month in June and its 2025 Community Celebration this fall....