Dance Chicago Opens Its 16th Season On 11/3

In keeping with its mission of bringing all styles of dance to Chicagoland area audiences, Dance Chicago will kick-off its 16th annual Festival on November 3rd at Stage 773 with a dizzying array of dance styles ranging from hip-hop, ballet and tap, to Latin, jazz and contemporary. Such favorites as Giordano, Culture Shock, No Mi La Mad, and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre will perform on the same stage as some exciting new dance groups.

New to the festival this year is the addition of Chicago Original Performances (COP), where one dance company will be the exclusive presenter of several dances during an entire evening or matinee performance. This year, No Mi La Mad, Chicago Dance Crash Radio Stars, and Mexican Dance Ensemble will present entire programs. For years, award-winning Chicago choreographers have been creating world-premier performances and now COP will provide audiences the opportunity to see a full evening of dances from these companies.

According to John Schmitz, Artistic Director and Curator of Dance Chicago, "I'm always inspired by the richness of new work of Chicago choreographers and this year is particularly wonderful for audiences to experience."

Also new to the Festival this year are:
· Urban Movement featuring Stick & Move: (Nov. 5) Just back from their world tour, fabulous Stick & Move Dance Crew's "Poppin' Masters" will showcase the best in footworking, stepping, power tumbling, bhangra, gihda, ghosting, hip-hop, tap, breakdancing, poppin, lockin, powermoving, juking, comedy, slowdance, isolations, puppetry. A second, completely different urban movement showcase will premiere on November 19th, curated by Vila Elkins and festival founder John Schmitz.
· Young Voices: (Nov. 10, 17) They are young, talented and their work has not been seen on Chicago stages before.
· Dance Carnival: (Nov. 20) Chicago's finest cutting-edge performers will have their chance to shine during Dance Carnival. These one-of-a-kind companies will push the boundaries of dance comedy and performance to the edge in this unique event.

The festival will also feature such audience favorite programs as Opening Night (Nov. 3), New Moves (Nov. 4, 11, 18), Choreographer's Showcase (Nov. 21) and Jazz Cabaret (Nov. 6, 14).

Considered the premiere showcase for the city's burgeoning dance scene, the month-long festival will feature the largest and most diverse variety of Chicago's local dance companies. The event features over 250 companies and choreographers, 3,000 artists in 13 different programs with more than 300 incredible works.

The Dance Chicago Performance Schedule is:
· Opening Night - Nov. 3 @ 8 pm
· New Moves A - Nov. 4 @ 8 pm
· Urban Movement: Stick & Move DC - Nov. 5 @ 8:15 pm
· Jazz Cabaret Nov. 6 - @ 8:15 pm
· Mexican Dance Ensemble - Nov. 7 @ 1 pm
· Young Voices A - Nov. 10 @ 8 pm
· New Moves B - Nov. 11 @ 8 pm
· Chicago Dance Crash Radio Stars - Nov. 12 @ 8:15 pm
· No Mi La Mad Dance - Nov. 13 @ 8:15 pm
· Jazz Cabaret - Nov. 14 @ 1 pm
· Chicago Dance Crash Radio Stars - Nov. 14 @ 5 pm
· Young Voices B - Nov. 17 @ 8 pm
· New Moves C - Nov. 18 @ 8 pm
· Urban Movement Showcase - Nov. 19 @ 8:15 pm
· Dance Carnival - Nov. 20 @ 8:15 pm
· Choreographers Showcase - Nov. 21 @ 1 pm & 5 pm

Performances for Dance Chicago 2010 will be at:
Stage 773
November 3-21, 2009
1225 West Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL
Box Office (773) 327-5252
Tickets at www.dancechicago.com

Dance Chicago has entertained over 100,000 people around the world with its unique styles of dance since 1994. More information on Dance Chicago can be found at www.dancechicago.com

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