THODOS DANCE CHICAGO COMES FULL CIRCLE WITH
25th ANNIVERSARY AND FINAL COMPANY PERFORMANCE
AT THE AUDITORIUM THEATRE
Program Features One-Time-Only Performance of Founder and Artistic Director Melissa Thodos’ The Wheel Trilogy
Thodos Dance Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre on Saturday, March 11
Thodos Dance Chicago (TDC) celebrates 25 years of artistry and innovation with FULL CIRCLE, TDC’s final performance as an ensemble-based company, on March 11 at the Auditorium Theatre.
“We are thrilled to welcome back Thodos Dance Chicago and are honored that they have selected our National Historic Landmark stage for their final performance as an ensemble company,” says Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, Auditorium Theatre CEO. “Twenty-five years ago, Melissa Thodos created a contemporary dance company that has helped elevate the Chicago dance scene to international acclaim. We look forward to celebrating this Chicago institution on March 11.”
Following the performance, Thodos Dance Chicago Founder and Artistic Director Melissa Thodos will start a new chapter for TDC as she restructures the organization and focuses on more project-based work.
“Some of the world’s most renowned artists and companies have graced the Auditorium Theatre’s beautiful stage,” says Thodos. “The theatre is truly one of the best venues for dance in all of Chicago, and we can’t wait to commemorate our amazing Silver Anniversary season and our last performance as an ensemble-based company, on the historic stage.”
The Silver Anniversary program includes a one-time-only performance of Thodos’ The Wheel Trilogy, which incorporates Reaching There (1986), Getting There (2011), and There, the newest and final piece in the trilogy that will have its world premiere on this historic evening.
TDC also gives the Chicago premiere to famed West Coast choreographer Bella Lewitzky’s unique Nos Duraturi, a compelling and dramatic full-company piece. Former Lewitzky dancer Walter Kennedy (who was featured in a poignant duet in the 1984 premiere) and former company member Amy Ernst will be in residence with TDC ahead of the performance, setting the work on the full company and working with its design team to honor the dramatic lighting and costumes for the piece. The company also performs Brian Enos’ Acid Reign, created specifically for the company’s 25th anniversary season; company member Briana Robinson’s Uncovering; and Thodos’ Changing Strangers.
NIB FOUNDATION – Dance Sponsor
JOYCE CHELBERG – “Made in Chicago” Dance Sponsor
About Thodos Dance Chicago
Thodos Dance Chicago was founded in 1992 by the Evanston-born, Chicago-based dancer and choreographer Melissa Thodos. TDC has been performing, creating, and teaching dance in Chicago and around the world ever since. The company’s unique mission of inspiring expression through dance education, dance creation, and dance performance has established TDC as an innovative, internationally-known presence in American contemporary dance. The Silver Anniversary performance signifies the beginning of another chapter for TDC. Moving forward, Melissa Thodos will begin creating work on a project basis, participating in residencies in Chicago and beyond, pursuing independent teaching opportunities with emerging artists, and setting new works and signature dances from the TDC repertoire on other companies locally and nationally.
Program Information
Acid Reign – Created specifically for TDC in honor of the company’s 25th anniversary, TDC guest choreographer Brian Enos sets out to answer the question, “What might a celebration look like on another planet in the future?”
Uncovering – First presented by TDC company member Briana Robinson in 2016 during the company’s New Dances series, Uncovering is set to music by the Portico Quartet.
Changing Strangers – The Chicago premiere of a Thodos piece that exemplifies Melissa Thodos’ fluid, kinetic style.
Nos Duraturi – Set to Stravinsky’s heroic Symphony of Psalms, Nos Duraturi is a life-affirming work by Bella Lewitzky about the triumph of brotherhood over violence, which fittingly premiered at the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles. Thodos Dance Chicago’s recreation of Nos Duraturi is the fourth work to emerge from the company’s American Dance Legacy Project. The project is supported by an NEA Arts Work grant.
The Wheel Trilogy – TDC presents The Wheel Trilogy, which includes Thodos’ signature works Reaching There and Getting There, as well as the newest and final piece of the trilogy, There. This is the first and only time that the trilogy will be performed in its entirety.
Performance and Ticket Information
Saturday, March 11 | 7:30PM
Tickets start at $29, and are available online at AuditoriumTheatre.org, by phone at 312.341.2300, or in person at the Auditorium Theatre Box Office (50 E Congress Parkway). Discounts available for groups of 10+.
Auditorium Theatre’s 2016-17 Season Upcoming Events
March 11: Thodos Dance Chicago
March 22-26: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
March 31: The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra with Bernadette Peters
May 19-21: Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg – Red Giselle
June 10: Giordano Dance Chicago
About The Auditorium Theatre
The Auditorium Theatre, located at 50 E Congress Pkwy in Chicago, is an Illinois, not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community and educational programming to Chicago, and to the continued restoration and preservation of the National Historic Landmark.
The Auditorium Theatre 2016-17 Season is made possible in part with support from the MacArthur Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Palmer House Hilton. For more information about programming, volunteer and donor opportunities or theatre tours, call 312.341.2310 or visit AuditoriumTheatre.org. For a complete listing of events at the Auditorium Theatre, please click here.
Thodos Dance Chicago, photo by Cheryl Mann | Auditorium Theatre, photo by Jude Howell
