Red Clay Dance Company Season 17 to Include World Premiere at MCA and Return of LA FEMME FESTIVAL
Season 17 officially launches this fall with the Paint the Town Red Fundraiser on Friday, September 19, at the Red Clay Dance Center.
By: A.A. Cristi Jun. 16, 2025
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.
Season 17 officially launches this fall with the Paint the Town Red Fundraiser on Friday, September 19, at the Red Clay Dance Center for Excellence in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. The season-opening event supports the company’s mission of “glocal” (global + local) artivism and includes an evening of dance, philanthropy, and community gathering.
On September 20 and 21, the company will present the world premiere of Freedom Square: A Blackgirlhood Altar, a new interdisciplinary work by Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward, during the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Chicago Performs festival. Blending dance, song, digital media, and installation, the immersive piece reimagines a utopia centered on freedom and healing for Black women and girls. The performances mark a significant return to the MCA stage and highlight Sanders-Ward’s continued commitment to blending activism with artistic innovation.
In March 2026, Red Clay brings back its La Femme Dance Festival, a biennial celebration of women in dance that showcases work by choreographers from the Black and African diasporas. The festival will include a public master class on March 27, followed by a full evening performance at the Harris Theater on March 28, featuring the premiere of Rena Butler’s A SEAT for Red Clay Dance Company and a reprise of Sanders-Ward’s Written on the Flesh.
The season will conclude in June 2026 with a two-week Summer Intensive for emerging dancers at Red Clay Dance’s home base in Woodlawn, reinforcing the company’s dual commitment to performance and education.
Before the official season launch, Red Clay Dance Company will expand its national presence this summer with debuts at Jacob’s Pillow and The Yard at Martha’s Vineyard, as well as a performance of Sanders-Ward’s Rest.Rise.Move.Nourish.Heal at the Africatown Culture Festival in Mobile, Alabama.
Founded in 2008, Red Clay Dance Company is known for blending African diasporic movement traditions with contemporary dance to tell stories rooted in social justice and community healing. The company continues to be led by Vershawn Sanders-Ward, an award-winning choreographer and educator who has helped shape the national conversation around dance, equity, and cultural preservation.
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