The free admission series features Midwest-based choreographers and dance companies at the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park and Storefront Theater
CHICAGO, 2015-7-21 — /Travel PR News/ — The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is pleased to announce the lineup for SpinOff 2015 taking placeNovember 5-21. A celebration of contemporary dance created by emerging and established artists from the Midwest, SpinOff will feature Chicago and world premieres, as well as excerpts from works-in-progress. All performances are FREE and take place in various locations including the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington Street), Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park (201 E. Randolph) and the Storefront Theater (66 E. Randolph).
Opening weekend of SpinOff features the world premiere of And We Shall Be Rid of Them by Molly Shanahan/MadShak taking place at the Dance Studio in the Chicago Cultural Center, November 5–7 at 6:30pm. The performance marks the first time collaboration between longtime colleagues Shanahan and Jeff Hancock who have been developing the work since 2012. With freewheeling inspiration from Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel, the performance explores themes of loss and abandonment, as well as identity and gender, through a highly vulnerable dance experience.
Leaping across the street, the world premiere of Bottom’s Edge by The Space Movement Project takes place indoors on theJay Pritzker Pavilion Stage at Millennium Park, November 6 and 7 at 8pm. In culmination of the company’s 10th Anniversary,Bottom’s Edge is an exploration of the ecological and social impact of the development of Chicago’s original prairie landscape. The work considers the presence of endings throughout natural and manmade cycles—a seemingly infinite natural expanse, a swift devastation and a system’s capacity to regenerate itself. Visual elements are inspired by the city’s original terrain and current urban landscapes in commemoration of the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial.
Brooklyn’s most beloved multi-disciplinary, rough-and-ready performance series, CATCH makes its Chicago premiere onNovember 13 and 14 at 7:30pm at the Storefront Theater. Bringing together performance mayhem from Midwest-based artists,CATCH features more than 10 artists, including Minneapolis-based performers Chris Schlichting and Chris Yon. Curated with delicate irreverence by Andrew Dinwiddie, Jeff Larson and Caleb Hammons, The New York Times described CATCH as “Consistently entertaining, stimulating, thought provoking and irreverent.”
The last weekend of Spinoff 2015 debuts the Chicago premiere of Stripe Tease by Chris Schlichting on November 20 and 21 at 7:30pm at the Storefront Theater. The Minnesotabased choreographer and performer crafts a deeply satisfying mix of patterns and set structures, large-scale spectacle and delicate intimacy. Schlichting’s newest work embraces and slyly subverts dance history and present work into a rich, sensory experience. The Minneapolis Star Tribune said, “Stripe Tease filled every nook, cranny, rafter and balcony with movement, sound and light.”
In addition to Chicago and world premieres, SpinOff 2015 also features two Work-in-Progress presentations, which give emerging and established artists the opportunity to test-drive new work in a public setting. On November 14 and 15 in the Dance Studio in the Chicago Cultural Center, Honey Pot Performance will show excerpts of a new work Ma(s)king Her. A multidisciplinary performance set within a fantastical world, the work addresses the absence of women of color in speculative fiction as empowered future beings. Additionally, work excerpts from blue fish part II by Ayako Kato and Bryan Saner will be presented during the double bill. Inspired by the 2011 nuclear power plant tragedy in Fukushima, the movement dialogue between Kato as fish and Saner as human reflects upon the dysfunction and equilibrium of modern human behavior within nature. During this work-in-progress, Kato and Saner explore the elements of dialogue in the performance. The double bill performances take place on Saturday, November 14 at 6pm and on Sunday, November 15 at noon.
All performances of SpinOff are FREE, but reservations are available for some performances at cityofchicago.org/dcase beginning on September 1. Reservations only guarantee seating until 15 minutes before show time and then seating is made available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors. For information on all productions presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, visit our website at cityofchicago.org/dcase and join us on Facebook (Department of Cultural Affairs and Sepcial Events) and Twitter and Instagram, @ChicagoDCASE.
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Dates and show times are subject to change.
Rebecca Smith rebecca.smith2@cityofchicago.org, 312.742.2036
Christine Carrino Christine.Carrino@cityofchicago.org, 312.744.0573