CDF Turns 5!

Xiaochuan Xie & Tadej Brdnik of Martha Graham Dance Group in "Snow on the Mesa". Photo by Costas.

The Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF) hits its 5th anniversary this summer and announced a stellar line up and an extension of this year’s festivities. For the fifth year, the festival will now go for five days and will include more performance, as well as adding dance film screenings and lecture-demonstration on choreographic inspiration.  Two new venues are also added to the fest:  the Auditorium Theatre and the Chicago Cultural Center.  Oh, did I mention (aside from the opening night gala) it’s free!

Moderns, Moves, Masters, Movies and Muses programs carry through the week to the final night and finale of the festival, a Celebration of Dance performance at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.  Top dance and performance artists from a multitude of companies will be here to perform.  Not only local favorites Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Joffrey Ballet and River North Dance Company, but acclaimed New York companies Paul Taylor Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Group, festival co-found Lar Lubovitch‘s namesake company as well as Ballet West and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet return again this year.  Newcomers include Doug Varone & Dancers, Butoh artists Eiko + Koma, avant-garde artists Adam Barruch and Faye Driscoll and Richard Move, a Martha Graham impersonator.  Thursday evenings Masters program features works by Jirí Kylián, Martha Graham and Lar Lubovitch.

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet dancers performing "Uneven". Photo by Rosalie O'Connor.

Added to the performances will be a matinee for the Eat to the Beat lunchtime series, an entire day of movie screenings including Invitation to the Dance, A Dancer’s World, Dancemaker and the quintessential dance film, The Red Shoes and a lec/dem with Lubovitch and Hubbard Street resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo moderated by dance writer Lucia Mauro.  The festival culminates with a Saturday evening showcase featuring five of the top companies in the US (Joffrey, Ballet West, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor, River North) and two guest artists from the New York City Ballet who will perform Balanchine’s neoclassic Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux.

Tickets are free, but will go fast, so stay tuned for more information on how to get tickets.  For more information, you can go to the CDF website.

5 thoughts on “CDF Turns 5!

  1. Thanks so much for the shout-out! We’re so excited to celebrate our 5th birthday with everyone!

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