DANCE
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There are lots of great Chicago choreographers with longer track records of ambitious and challenging—if uneven—work. Among these brave, intelligent souls, who do their own thing and do it well, are Shirley Mordine, Billy Siegenfeld of Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, Breakbone DanceCo.’s Atalee Judy, Carrie Hanson of the Seldoms, and Julia Rhoads, who broke through to a new level of brainy comedy in Lucky Plush’s Cinderbox 18 last fall. But my pick is Hubbard Street Dance Chicago member Alejandro Cerrudo. The two pieces he’s choreographed for that company show taste, ingenuity, and feeling. Of course they had all the bells and whistles, including great performers and technical effects, but I think they’d shine even stripped bare—especially the quicksilver, intimately scaled Lickety-Split (2006). This spring’s Extremely Close relies more on stage effects, but the impression it creates is breathtakingly soulful. Cerrudo’s work is thoughtful, but mostly it succeeds through kinetic invention and force. aHSDC’s fall series, Thu-Sun 10/9-12, will include Extremely Close; a new work by Cerrudo will premiere in April; hubbardstreetdance.com. —Laura Molzahn
Readers’ Choice: Erin Carlisle Norton, the Moving Architects
The Joffrey is obviously a contender for Chicago’s best company, but its 50-year-old concept of a uniquely American ballet has needed refurbishing. Promisingly, new artistic director Ashley Wheater dug up a largely unknown masterwork by Twyla Tharp, Waterbaby Bagatelles, for May’s American Moderns program. Best up-and-comer is nine-year-old Luna Negra Dance Theater, led by Eduardo Vilaro, whose savvy choices and risks have paid off in increasingly sophisticated Latin-inflected work. aHubbard Street Dance Chicago, 312-850-9744, hubbardstreetdance.com. —Laura Molzahn
There are trade-offs at every venue. Big, expensive places like the Harris and the Auditorium have grandeur and excellent technical resources, but the performance can feel far away. A shoe box like Link’s Hall provides intimacy but not much potential for stage effects. The Dance Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art offer the best of both worlds—but the sheer volume of expert, challenging work at the Dance Center pushes it into first place. aDance Center of Columbia College, 1306 S. Michigan, 312-344-8300, colum.edu/dance_center. —Laura Molzahn
