Dance Chicago Will Celebrate Valentine's Day with DANCES FROM THE HEART

Emergence Dance Theatre will present the 25th anniversary of Dance Chicago, an annual celebration of dance, curated by Artistic Director John Schmitz, and the return of Dances from the Heart, Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Dance Chicago annually offers more than 250 performing groups and over 2,500 individual artists spanning a wide variety of genres. The dance festival has remained an annual event that has been a part of the fabric of Chicago's dance scene since its founding in 1994. Tickets are $31 regular adult, $23 senior (over 65) and students (any age) and $18 children (under 10), and are on sale now at AthenaeumTheatre.org or by calling 773.935.6875.

Dances from the Heart showcases the most romantic works from Dance Chicago performers featuring an amazing array of styles such as aerial, tap, urban fusion, jazz, contemporary, Irish, Mexican folkloric, hip-hop and more. A selection of companies currently on the program include Visceral Dance Chicago (contemporary), Tre Dumas (tap), Trinity Irish Dancers (Irish hard shoe), RawFunkyStreetFlav (rfsf) (hip-hop), Sophia Sanchez (Flamenco), GUS Legacy Co. (hip hop), GG Company, (jazz) and Movement Revolution (hip-hop). The night is a beautiful way to celebrate Valentine's weekend, romance and Chicago dance. Audience members will also receive complimentary treats courtesy of Eli's.

ABOUT DANCE CHICAGO

Founded by John Schmitz and the late Fred Solari, Dance Chicago burst onto the scene in 1995. Garnering vast support from the Chicago dance community, audience and funders, Dance Chicago has invested time, energy and creativity in building the Chicago Dance Community experienced today. The festival has created over 600 shows and showcased 15,000 acts with 150,000 artists to audiences of 250,000.

ABOUT JOHN SCHMITZ

John Schmitz is the co-founder of Dance Chicago and its Artistic Producer. He has been producing inventive dance events for 35 years, promoting alliances and collaborations between artists and dance organizations both nationally and internationally. Schmitz was one of 1995 Chicago Tribune's "Chicagoans of the Year," a 1998 Ruth Page Award recipient for "Outstanding Contribution to the Dance Community" and the 2006 winner of Columbia College Arts "Entrepreneurship of the Year Award." His programming focus is in the belief that dance can drive emotional transformation. Being non-verbal, its dramatic power is well suited to such a task. The goal is: feel better about life when you leave the theatre than you did before you entered the theatre. He currently serves as President of the Board of Athenaeum Theatre Productions.

Emergence Dance Theatre presents the 25th anniversary of Dance Chicago, an annual celebration of dance, curated by Artistic Director John Schmitz, and the return of Dances from the Heart, Saturday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave. Dance Chicago annually offers more than 250 performing groups and over 2,500 individual artists spanning a wide variety of genres. The dance festival has remained an annual event that has been a part of the fabric of Chicago's dance scene since its founding in 1994. Tickets are $31 regular adult, $23 senior (over 65) and students (any age) and $18 children (under 10), and are on sale now at AthenaeumTheatre.org or by calling 773.935.6875.

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