Deeply Rooted Hosts Dance Education Spring Showcase At Logan Center For The Arts This May 

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, one of Chicago's premier professional dance companies for more than 25 years, hosts its Annual Dance Education Spring Showcase, this year honoring the legacy of Co-Founders Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott. The event takes place Saturday, May 6, with a pre-show talk at 6 p.m. and the performance at 7 p.m., at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago. Information and tickets are available at deeplyrooteddancetheater.org/dance-education-performances/de-showcase-2023.

The evening begins with a "Meet the Founders" talk with Abbott and Jeff at 6 p.m. for pre-show-and-performance ticket buyers. The performance at 7 p.m. features the professional company and participants in the company's Dance Education programs, including the Youth Ensemble, Mature H.O.T. Women, and Men Moving. The program will celebrate Jeff and Abbott as co-founders of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, which made its public debut in 1996. Today Deeply Rooted's professional company performs nationally and internationally, connecting with diverse audiences through universal and soul-stirring themes.

"At this event, we honor our roots by saluting our co-founders, Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott, while looking to our future through our Dance Education programs, training the next generation of professional dancers," said Deeply Rooted Artistic Director Nicole Clarke-Springer. "For me personally, working alongside Iega and Gary has been more than artistic-it's been holistic. Having the privilege to grow artistically under the guidance of these talented individuals has helped shape me into the woman I am-the leader I am-today."

Deeply Rooted's Dance Education programs provide training based in ballet, modern, and African dance techniques, led by the company's artistic staff and occasional guest artists at two locations: Ballet Chicago, 17 North State Street, and the Mayfair Arts Center, 8701 South Bennett Avenue. Programs include the Youth Ensemble, for pre-professional dancers ages 12-18; Mature H.O.T. Women, for women 25 and older who are Health-conscious, Optimistic, and Triumphant; Men Moving, for men seeking a healthy, generative, and supportive movement environment; and the Summer Dance Intensive, a rigorous four-to-six-week training curriculum fostering learning and personal growth, along with opportunities to learn the company's repertory through workshops and performances.

The programs also feature The Continuum, a series of guided conversations on self-awareness and personal growth informed by each participant's creativity and artistic process.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater's Annual Dance Education Spring Showcase
takes place Saturday, May 6 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts,
915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.
Tickets for the performance at 7 p.m. are $25;
tickets that include the "Meet the Founders" pre-show talk at 6 p.m.
and the performance are $45. Tickets are available at
deeplyrooteddancetheater.org/dance-education-performances/de-showcase-2023.
All programming is subject to change.

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater reimagines and diversifies the aesthetics of contemporary dance by uniting modern, classical, American, and African-American traditions in dance and storytelling. Through its uncompromising pursuit of excellence, Deeply Rooted demonstrates the transformative power of art and beauty through performance, dance education, and cultural enrichment in Chicago and on the world stage. Deeply Rooted is rooted in traditions of American and African-American dance, storytelling, and universal themes that spark a visceral experience and ignite an emotional response in diverse audiences worldwide. Deeply Rooted collaborates with nationally renowned choreographers, across the spectrum of modern, ballet, and African dance, to reflect contemporary voices. For information, visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.