There’s a version of Chicago that we vehemently defend to our out-of-town friends and relatives. We’re more than deep dish pizza, Michigan Avenue and the mob. We’re Midwestern and metropolitan, diverse and filled to the gills with top-shelf dining, world-class cultural experiences and gloriously gritty dives.
It’s a kind of solidarity that surely other big towns exhibit, but I’d like to think Chicago is special. Many Chicagoans are beginning to be honest with each other about race and equity; we’re starting to emerge from our enclaves and explore each others’ neighborhoods. And through those experiences and conversations, we discover that the awesomeness of Chicago and Chicagoans is captured in our differences, as much as our commonalities. The current dance scene is hyper-interested in confronting urgent local issues and tackling the challenges and problems that exist here through art, particularly with issues surrounding identity and race. Some of these are explored in Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble’s “Stories of Chicago,” through Saturday at Ebenezer Lutheran Church.
Second in a four-part series titled “Art + Activism,” “Stories of Chicago” features three dance works, poetry by Marcos Herrera, and an art gallery themed around race, equity and the experiences of people of color in Chicago. Those are broad strokes to try and paint in one evening; to what extent these works move the needle is an open question. Personally, I’m moved by the message “Stories of Chicago” conveys, but largely uninspired by these particular performances.
An exception might be RE Dance Group’s piece called “The Biggest Wail from the Bottom of My Heart,” premiered just over a year ago at the Hamlin Park Theater. Here, the evening-length work is excerpted and pared down, and the change of setting suits this work. “The Biggest Wail” touches on a mishmash of sociopolitical themes, including white privilege. Ebenezer’s lighter palate — the venue is an out-of-commission nave with peachy dance floor butting against the sanctuary stairs — and close-up seating configuration put you toe-to-toe with the dancers. Not kidding: At one point, performer and co-director Lucy Riner nearly brushed my foot as she executed tumbling floor work inches away from me. But in this case, the close proximity feels warm and inviting even as these dancers oscillate between scenes of idyllic child’s play, a hyper-physical phrase inspired by Donald Trump’s wall, and a cheerleading message about whiteness.
RE Dance’s works, often choreographed, as this is, by co-director Michael Estanich, are typically more complex than they at first appear. Estanich’s pieces marinate well, and “The Biggest Wail’s” biggest strength is Estanich’s ability to build interesting phrases and knit them together cohesively. It doesn’t hurt that this current cast of dancers is among the strongest they’ve had in the company’s 10-year history.
Opening the program, Dance Loop Chicago’s “Enuf” was inspired by graffiti and personal stories about violence in Chicago that choreographer Amber Echols shared with Dance Loop director Paula Frasz. “Enuf” marks a sharp turn for the direction of the modern dance group, whose last big project was a cutesy compilation of Tennessee Williams plays in 2013. With “Enuf,” Frasz is now, apparently, drawing from her well of students at Northern Illinois University. The piece, created in 2017 at Northern, offers a few glimmers and a couple of powerful images — particularly when the dancers creatively employ three long benches. Contemporary, hip-hop and some West African-inspired steps swirl about the performance space, morphing into scenes that leave impressions of church, gun violence and a public hanging. But this is not a platform for collegiate work, and “Enuf’s” uneven performances, out of sync phrase work, mixtape of popular music, and elementary use of compositional devices shows.
South Chicago Dance Theatre concludes the evening with an excerpt from director Kia Smith’s “Dancing Beyond the Borderline: An Immersive Performance Experience.” In only three seasons, Smith’s tireless efforts have resulted in remarkable growth for this company. And there’s a lot to admire, with a strong cast of dancers, compositional integrity and a contemporary dance vibe infused with various hip-hop and social dance vernaculars. Big swaths of this piece are devoted to exploring that movement vocabulary, much of which is set to a mostly unintelligible voiceover about identity. Excerpts can be tricky. Had we gotten to see the whole thing, the overarching theme of the piece, purportedly about Smith’s family history in the context of the Great Migration, might have been clearer. That sounds fascinating, but in this context, is neither immersive, nor a performance experience I’m likely to remember.
Lauren Warnecke is a freelance critic.
Review: “Stories of Chicago” (2 stars)
When: Through 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 1650 W. Foster Ave.
Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Tickets: $19-$25 at 773-486-8261 and www.danztheatre.org
