The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago to Welcome Live Audiences This Fall

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham Photo by Carrie Schneider
Fall 2021 Season to Open to Live Audiences

After more than a year of online programming, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago will once again welcome live audiences in their physical space at 1306 S. Michigan Ave.

The Dance Center will present two live world premieres in the Fall 2021 season.

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

An Untitled Love

September 16, 17, and 18, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

An Untitled Love is Kyle Abraham’s newest evening-length work and the Dance Center will be hosting the world premiere. Drawing from the catalogue of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo, this creative exaltation pays homage to the complexities of self-love and Black love, while serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating culture, family, and community.

  • There will be a post-performance discussion with Kyle Abraham moderated by Princess Mhoon of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project on Thursday, September 16.
  • Friday, September 17, will be Alumni Night and there will be a post-performance discussion with Kyle Abraham led by recent Columbia alums Kennedy Alexandria Ward ’21 and Audrey Hartnett ’21. Columbia alums are encouraged to attend the Friday night performance.

The Seldoms

GRASS

October 14, 15, and 16, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

GRASS is a new dance theater work from The Seldoms about turf grass and cannabis, investigating the war on weeds and the war on weed. Through dance, text, and animation, GRASS shows how the lawn and marijuana have each been used to measure morality, impose ideals of citizenship, and to stigmatize, criminalize, and exclude those who don’t conform.

  • There will be a post-performance discussion on Thursday, October 14.
  • There will be a pre-performance discussion on Friday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m.

“I’m thrilled that we’ll be hosting Kyle Abraham and The Seldoms this fall, both bringing new work to the Dance Center stage,” says Ellen Chenoweth, Director of the Dance Presenting Series. “While we have adapted our programming and tried many different models over the last 18 months, I’ve been reminded that there is nothing like experiencing a great work of art with other people in the same space at the same time.”

Columbia continues to hold safety measures in place informed by guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, and consultations with epidemiology experts from Rush University and the University of Chicago. All visiting artists and Dance Center staff have been vaccinated. Additional health and safety protocols have been set in place, including a larger lobby, increased cleaning measures, and an upgraded air filtration system. The theater will be limited to a 75% capacity and all patrons, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask at all times while in the Dance Center.

General admission tickets are $30. Tickets for students at any institution are $10 and tickets for dance industry members and Columbia faculty and staff are $15.

Ticket sales will begin on August 17, 2021. Tickets will be available online at dance.colum.edu or at the Dance Center box office at 1306 S. Michigan Ave. The box office can be reached at 312-369-8330 and is open from Tuesday – Friday, 2-6pm, and the two hours before each performance.

The Dance Center

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.”

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 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, as well as 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 and the Crane Group. Special thanks to Friends of the Dance Center for their generous contributions to the Dance Center’s work.  

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Daisy Franco
Communications Manager
dfranco@colum.edu

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