Dance Resources in Chicago

(August 2008)

by Jonathan Meyer, Artistic Director of Khecari Dance Theater

www.linkshall.org
This is a long-standing home for independent & experimental dance & movement
arts in chicago. Good to have on the radar for shows, rehearsal space
possibilities, etc. Really good people over there, also good residency
programs, etc. They have an e-weekly that has performance announcements &
the like; also they’ll list requests for temporary housing for out-of-town
artists, etc. I think jennifer thornton is the one to talk to about
e-weekly related stuff.

www.chicagoartistsresource.org
This is an on-line resource for artists of all types in chicago. There’s
listings for studio & performance spaces, show announcements, stories on
local artists, information about arts-related financial assistance
workshops, that kind of thing. Also a community bulletin type thing where
you can post stuff (like “hey, I’m looking for a place to stay for a year”).
I think you have to create an account, but it’s free.

Other good dance resources while in chicago (these are probably largely
self-evident but I’ll list some anyway):

1. www.cityofchicago.org/Tourism/CulturalCenter (downtown; free music, dance, etc.
2. www.hubbardstreetdance.com (sort of the main place for classes in chicago,though mainly jazz & ballet; chicago’s rather hurting for places for open-to-the-public dance classes)
3. www.colum.edu/dancecenter (columbia college; main place for contemporary training in the city; some shows, good folks down there. Classes can be dropped in on; I’m not entirely sure how that works. Probably contact larry (at the front desk) to find out about this.)

There are also some dance festivals to be aware of.

• There’s Dance Chicago in november (I think) at the athanaeum; pretty hairy over there -some decent stuff mixed in with hours of miss betty’s suburban dance academy for tots & teens (and the like).
• The other dance festival (that’s actually the name, “the other dance festival”) happens at hamlin park fieldhouse, I think september or october. (www.chicagomovingcompany.org/otherfest.html)
• And some big downtown stuff – looptopia, I think – I’m not very tuned into that stuff, but it can be found on the chicago artists resource I mentioned above.

Also for checking out companies & performances & festival:

www.seechicagodance.com.

Cheers

Jonathan

Jonathan Meyer began dancing at Oberlin College in 1990 and graduated with a BA in dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1996. In addition to modern and post-modern techniques, he has studied ballet, capoeira, butoh, and other movement forms. All find their way into an eclectic choreography unified by an understanding of chaos as the primal creative font, reflected by the name “khecari,” a Sanskrit word for creation that translates “moving in the void” or “dancing in the abyss.” Meyer has danced professionally in the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America. He founded Khecari Dance Theatre in January 2002 and serves as Artistic Director.

Note from the Editor: it’s worth checking out some of the work Jonathan has been making with Khecari. You can see some video clips here.