The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago Has Announced First Driehaus Commissioned Artist

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, long committed to offering Chicago's small and mid-sized contemporary dance companies opportunities for artistic development and performance, announces the first Richard H. Driehaus Commissioned Artist: Lucky Plush Productions.

On the heels of its highly successful work Rink Life in 2018 and 2019, Lucky Plush will spend the week of January 20 at the Dance Center developing a new work for a later premiere. The company will receive a commissioning fee and have access to the Dance Center's theater space and technical resources. Lucky Plush will present a free showing of the work-in-progress on Friday, January 24 at 6 p.m.

"Funded by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Commissioned Artist program is a big part of our commitment to local artists, providing space, time and resources to help them develop new work," said Ellen Chenoweth, director and lead curator of the Dance Center's Dance Presenting Series. "We are thrilled for the first season of our Chicago Artists Performance Platform, which also includes Natya Dance Theater and Same Planet Performance Project. The Dance Center theater is a beautiful and well-equipped facility, and we are glad to help make this valuable resource available to Chicago dance artists."

Lucky Plush Productions is an ensemble dance-theatre company led by founder and Artistic Director Julia Rhoads. The company is committed to provoking and supporting an immediacy of presence-a palpable live-ness-that performers share with audiences in real time. A unique hybrid of high-level dance and theatre, Lucky Plush's work is recognized for its layered choreography, nuanced dialogue, surprising humor and socially relevant content. Lucky Plush is equally dedicated to engaging students and community members with the company's ensemble practices through tailored arts education programming.

The Dance Center presents a free work-in-progress showing
by Lucky Plush Productions Friday, January 24 at 6 p.m.
at the Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.
No reservations are necessary. All programming is subject to change.

The Dance Center's 2019-20 season continues with the Chicago debut of Kimberly Bartosik/daela January 30-February 1; Chicago's Same Planet Performance Project, presenting two premieres February 21 and 22; Nigerian artist Qudus Onikeku in his U.S. debut March 13 and 14; and Abby Z and the New Utility in their Chicago debut April 9-11.

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago is the city's leading presenter of contemporary dance, showcasing artists of regional, national and international significance. The Dance Center has been named "Chicago's Best Dance Theatre" by Chicago magazine, "Best Dance Venue" by the Chicago Reader and Chicago's top dance venue by Newcity, and Time Out Chicago cited it as "...consistently offering one of Chicago's strongest lineups of contemporary and experimental touring dance companies." The Dance Center recently celebrated 45 years of presenting contemporary dance in Chicago.

Programs at the Dance Center are supported, in part, by the Alphawood Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley Jr. Family Foundation, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, the Irving Harris Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Presenting Series is also supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Crane Group. Additional project support, in part, by a grant from the Western Arts Alliance Advancing Indigenous Performance Touring Fund and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Supplemental support includes FUSED (French U.S. Exchange in Dance), a program developed by FACE Foundation and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States with the support from the Florence Gould Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Institut français-Paris, the French Ministry of Culture, and private donors. Special thanks to the Friends of the Dance Center for their generous contributions to the Dance Center's work.