INTERVIEW: JAY FRANKE DISCUSSES THE 7TH ANNUAL CHICAGO DANCING FESTIVAL

INTERVIEW: JAY FRANKE DISCUSSES THE 7TH ANNUAL CHICAGO DANCING FESTIVAL 1 Podcast with Chicago Dancing Festival Co-Founder JAY FRANKE from SHOWBIZ CHICAGO on Vimeo.

Podcast with Chicago Dancing Festival Co-Founder JAY FRANKE from SHOWBIZ CHICAGO on Vimeo.

Board2-199x300The 7th Annual Chicago Dancing Festival begins August 20, 2013 and co-founder Jay Franke returns to the Showbiz Chicago to discuss the enormous success the of the festival as well as this years various dance companies and program. For more information visit ChicagoDancingFestival.com

The final program line-up is set for the 7th annual Chicago Dancing Festival, taking place at venues across downtown Chicago August 20 – 24.  Co-produced by internationally renowned choreographer and native Chicagoan Lar Lubovitch and highly esteemed Chicago dancer Jay Franke, this “Free-to-All” Festival features top ballet, modern, ethnic and rhythmic dance companies from Chicago and across the country.

Highlights this year include two Chicago Dancing Festival Commissions, the Chicago Premiere of Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31 performed by The Joffrey Ballet and the Premiere of Lane Alexander’s and Bril Barrett’s In the beginning… performed by Chicago Human Rhythm Project.

This year also sees more live music throughout the Festival, as Victoria Jaiani of The Joffrey Ballet, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and festival newcomer Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater(contemporary Flamenco) all perform to live accompaniment.  Philadelphia-based company Philadanco and Chicago-based Natya Dance Theatre (contemporary Bharata Natyam) will also be seen for the first time in the 2013 Chicago Dancing Festival.

CHICAGO DANCING FESTIVAL 2013 SCHEDULE 

Tuesday, August 20, 7:30 pm – “The Harris at 10! Anniversary Special”

Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive

  • ·        Brian Brooks of Brian Brooks Moving CompanyI’m Going to Explode by Brian Brooks
  • ·        Chicago Human Rhythm Project, In the beginning…^ by Lane Alexander and Bril Barrett (Premiere)
  • ·        Hubbard Street Dance ChicagoLittle mortal jump by Alejandro Cerrudo
  • ·        The Joffrey BalletSon of Chamber Symphony by Stanton Welch
  • ·        Lar Lubovitch Dance CompanyCrisis Variations by Lar Lubovitch with live accompaniment by ensemble Le Train Bleu
  • ·        Brooklyn Mack* from the Washington Ballet and Tamako Miyazaki* from Columbia Classical Ballet, pas de deux from Diana and Actaeon by Agrippina Vaganova

Wednesday, August 21, 6:30 pm – “Solitaire – A Game of Dance” (Gala Performance & Benefit)

Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Avenue

  • ·        The Chicago Dancing Festival celebrates seven years with its annual Gala, an evening celebrating solo artists from the world of classical, contemporary, Bharata Natyam and Flamenco dance.  This fundraising benefit includes a performance and benefit with an opportunity to mingle with many of this year’s participating artists.  This is the only paid ticket event during the 2013 Festival.  Tickets are $250 per person and can be purchased by emailing info@chicagodancingfestival.com.  Space is limited.

Thursday, August 22, 7:30 pm – “Dancing in Chicago”

Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway

  • Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater* in residence at Northeastern Illinois University, Boleroby Dame Libby Komaiko
  • ·        Hubbard Street Dance ChicagoPACOPEPEPLUTO by Alejandro Cerrudo
  • ·        The Joffrey BalletEpisode 31^ by Alexander Ekman (Chicago Premiere)
  • ·        The Joffrey BalletTarantella by George Balanchine
  • ·        Lar Lubovitch Dance CompanyTransparent Things by Lar Lubovitch with live accompaniment by the Bryant Park Quartet

Friday, August 23, 6 pm and 8 pm – “Solitaire – A Game of Dance” (The Art of the Solo)

Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Avenue

  • ·        Samuel Lee Roberts of Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterIn/Side by Robert Battle
  • ·        Brian Brooks of Brian Brooks Moving CompanyI’m Going to Explode by Brian Brooks
  • ·        Camille A. Brown of Camille A. Brown & DancersThe Real Cool (a solo excerpt from Mr. Tol E. Rance) by Camille A. Brown
  • ·        Julia Hinojosa of Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater*, Ensueños de mi Caribe by Julia Hinojosa with live accompaniment by flamenco singer and guitarist Paco Fonta and percussionist Javier Saume Mazzei
  • ·        Johnny McMillan, David Schultz and Jonathan Fredrickson of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago,PACOPEPEPLUTO by Alejandro Cerrudo
  • ·        Victoria Jaiani of The Joffrey BalletThe Dying Swan by Mikhail Fokine with live accompaniment by cellist Barbara Haffner
  • ·        Krithika Rajagopalan of Natya Dance Theatre*, Sthithihi by Krithika Rajagopalan

Saturday, August 24, 7:30 pm – “Celebration of Dance”

Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph Street

  • ·        Samuel Lee Roberts of Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterIn/Side by Robert Battle
  • ·        Chicago Human Rhythm ProjectIn the beginning…^ by Lane Alexander and Bril Barrett
  • ·        Giordano Dance ChicagoTwo Become Three by Alexander Ekman (2012 CDF Commission)
  • ·        Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater*, Bolero by Dame Libby Komaiko
  • ·        The Joffrey BalletInterplay by Jerome Robbins
  • ·        Philadanco*, Wake Up by Rennie Harris
  • ·        Brooklyn Mack* from the Washington Ballet and Tamako Miyazaki* from Columbia Classical Ballet, pas de deux from Diana and Actaeon by Agrippina Vaganova

All programs are subject to change.

*CDF Debut

^CDF Commission

Ticket Information

All events are free but tickets for the indoor performance showcases (Harris Theater, Auditorium Theatre and two MCA shows) are reserved in advance.  Tickets for these shows became available starting July 16 and “sold out” within hours.  All tickets will be held at Will-Call.

However, any tickets unclaimed 15 minutes prior to curtain time each night will be released to those in aStand-by line.  Stand-by lines begin one hour before the performance, in person only.  All seating for all venues is general admission.

No tickets are needed for the outdoor “Celebration of Dance” Grand Finale performance at the Pritzker Pavilion, Saturday, August 24.

484187_10151492521008830_1957117702_nAbout the Chicago Dancing Festival

Established in 2007, the Chicago Dancing Festival was founded to elevate awareness of dance in Chicago, to increase accessibility to the art form and to provide inspiration for local artists.  Its mission is to present a wide variety of excellent dance, enrich the lives of the people of Chicago and provide increased accessibility to the art form, thereby helping create a new audience.  Its vision is to raise the national and international profile of dance in the city, furthering Chicago as the “dance capital of the world” (as Mayor Rahm Emanuel put it at the 2012 Chicago Dancing Festival).

Lar Lubovitch (Founder, Artistic Director) is one of America’s most versatile and highly acclaimed choreographers and founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 45 years ago.  In the years since, he has choreographed more than 100 dances for his New York-based company, which has performed in nearly all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 foreign countries.  Born in Chicago, Mr. Lubovitch was educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York.

Jay Franke (Founder, Artistic Director) began his formal training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.  In 1993, he was selected as a Finalist for the Presidential Scholar in the Arts and accepted into the Juilliard School.  Upon receiving his BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School, Mr. Franke went to work with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, “THARP!”  Mr. Franke has since danced with The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and was a leading dancer in the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company from 2005 to 2010.

The Chicago Dancing Festival is grateful for its 2013 supporters including: InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Official Hotel Partner; Chicago Sun-Times, Print Media Sponsor; Museum of Contemporary Art; Harris Theater for Music and Dance; City of Chicago, Millennium Park; The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University; The Robert and Jamie Taylor Foundation; David Herro and Jay Franke; Illinois Arts Council; National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; The Chicago Community Trust; Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development; The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; and the Irving Harris Foundation.

For more information on the Chicago Dancing Festival, its history and 2013 offerings, check out the newly redesigned www.chicagodancingfestival.com.