SPRING THEATER & ARTS PREVIEW

dance and doing so in a really audacious way.

What does that mean for you?

It means connection; it means collaboration. It means giving opportunity; it means taking scope of what’s happening here on the Chicago dance scene and being reflective of the individuality and those unique nuances of our community internally. It’s about really reflecting who we are and how we can show that through the artists we are partnering with.

Can you tell us about your background in dance?

Again, without negative connotation, I didn’t have a choice: my mother was a dancer. My mom started dancing at a young age, and people took notice of her movement practice. At 15 years old, she started teaching kids in her neighborhood. It grew and grew. She had a school in New Orleans for 55 years. So dance was a predetermined, serendipitous path for me. I grew up surrounded by dancers and movement and creativity and innovation. So that was my start. I decided to continue on that path in high school, college, and grad school with the full support of my family.

Can you tell me more about the spring series?

Staycee Pearl dance project and Soy Sos, a Pittsburgh-based dance company, was so inspiring to us. They were so energetic and really connected to the students. They were selfless in the way they articulated this movement experience so rooted in the choreographer’s experience as a Black woman. The immersive nature of the sound score, the generous fluidity of the body, the myriad of different genres and languages that were so wonderfully intertwined, was just exceptional to experience. In less than two weeks we’re welcoming FLOCK. We’re excited to have Alice [Klock] and Florian [Lochner], both formerly dancers and choreographers with Hubbard Street, return to Chicago with the premiere of a new work. We’re really excited to see what they’re incorporating—our experiences, our memories, how that is communicated through the body. We’re rounding out the season with Jumaane Taylor and Supreme Love. [Taylor] is so humble and rooted in what this work is said to express. I’m really excited to have it presented at the Dance Center.

In the past, the Dance Center offered open master classes when choreographers and companies would come through—is that still happening?

It’s not still happening, but we’d like to reinstate them with the 50th anniversary season. In the past it was coined [the] Dance Masters series, a series of master classes. This commitment to presenting embodied experiences goes beyond the students at the Dance Center [to] those who are part of our internal community. It’s important not only for us to open our doors for the performances but to have these really intimate experiences with the artists beyond the scope of the proscenium. More to come on that soon.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to connecting with the dance community here in Chicago in a really authentic way. I know I’m still pretty new to being on the dance scene, but meeting and intersecting and making connections through the work presented here is really important to me. I’m looking forward to having a hand in continuing such a rich history of the Dance Center and seeing how this path continues that legacy for many years to come. I’m so honored to participate in what that continuum is.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Thanks for the continued support and trust of what the Dance Center is about. We’re looking forward to welcoming and opening our doors to the community. v

@IreneCHsiao