Displaying items by tag: The Auditorium Theatre

The Auditorium (Chicago’s Landmark Stage® at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive) proudly presents a special evening with Parsons Dance, the New York-based contemporary American dance company founded in 1985, and internationally renowned for its athletic ensemble work, boundary-pushing artistry and life-affirming joy. This performance will mark the company’s first in Chicago in thirty years. Parsons Dance performs at The Auditorium, 50 E Ida B. Wells Drive, one night only, Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 PM. Tickets start at $30.00 and are available at auditoriumtheatre.org or by calling The Auditorium’s Ticket Service Center at 312.341.2300.

The mixed repertory program demonstrates the range and athleticism of the dancers featuring choreographic highlights from the company’s deep canon. The program begins with Wolfgang (2005), a work for six dancers set to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart followed by a solo work Balance of Power (2020) set to a commissioned percussive score by Giancarlo de Trizio. Closing out the first half is Nascimento (1990), a full company work honoring five-time Grammy-Award winning Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento. After seeing the company perform during a tour in Brazil, Nascimento gifted the work’s musical score to the company and the resulting collaboration has become a fan-favorite of the Parsons repertory. Nascimento will be preceded by a new Milton Nascimento tribute video by videographer Joe Locorro.

The second half of the program begins with Juke (2024), the sole piece on the program not choreographed by Parsons Dance Founder and Artistic Director David Parsons. Juke, by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater alum Jamar Roberts, is a jazzy full company number set to a score by Miles Davis. Next on the program is Parsons’ signature work Caught (1982), a solo featuring an extraordinary 150 jumps in five minutes! This iconic solo, a gravity-defying feat of strobe-light illusion, has remained a staple of modern dance for four decades.  The energetic finale, Shining Star (2004), is a full company number paying tribute to 1970’s power group Earth, Wind & Fire.

“The last time Parsons Dance performed in Chicago was in 1995, and I’m incredibly excited about returning to this city whose great artistic legacy helped establish our company’s position in the dance community during its early years,” said Parsons Dance Artistic Director David Parsons. “We are especially delighted to appear at the iconic Auditorium, where we will take the stage with some of our most favorite works.”

“We are thrilled to present Parsons Dance in its triumphant return to Chicago,” said The Auditorium CEO Rich Regan. “Parsons’ unique blend of virtuosic, high-energy, and joyful dance creates such a fun atmosphere that must be experienced live.”

About Parsons Dance

Parsons Dance is a contemporary American dance company, internationally renowned for its energized, athletic ensemble work. Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director David Parsons and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Howell Binkley, the company has toured to more than 445 cities, 30 countries, and 5 continents and has performed at such notable venues as The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sydney Opera House, Maison de la Danse, Teatro La Fenice, and Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro.  

Heralded by The New York Times as “one of the great movers of modern dance,” David Parsons has received many accolades throughout his career, including three Choreography Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; the American Choreography Award; the Dance Magazine Award; a Howard Gilman Fellowship; the Dance Masters of America Annual Award, and the Capezio ACE Award.  He has collaborated with iconic artists across all disciplines, including Dr. Billy Taylor, John Mackey, Kenji Bunch, Stephen Schwartz, Milton Nascimento, Allen Toussaint, Donna Karan, Annie Leibovitz, Ellsworth Kelly, and Alex Katz.  

About The Auditorium

The Auditorium, located at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, is an Illinois not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community, and educational programming to all of Chicago and beyond as The Theatre for the People. The organization also is committed to the continued restoration and preservation of this National Historic Landmark that originally opened in 1889.

The Auditorium’s 2024-25 performance season features a dynamic mix of cultural events from ballet to rock and roll and everything in between. For more information on The Auditorium and a complete listing of events at The Auditorium please visit AuditoriumTheatre.org.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the world's most popular dance companies, returns to The Auditorium, Chicago's landmark stage at 50 E Ida B. Wells Drive, in four performances only, Friday-Sunday, March 7-9, 2025 as part of a coast-to-coast 2025 United States tour in a season celebrating the life and legacy of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison (1943-2024). Led by Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing, the passionate spirit and extraordinary technique of Ailey's dancers will be showcased in two exciting programs featuring a trio of Chicago premieres alongside compelling new productions and beloved Ailey Classics including Alvin Ailey's must-see signature masterpiece Revelations. Tickets start at $39.00 and are now available at auditoriumtheatre.org or by calling The Auditorium's Ticket Service Center at 312.341.2300.

"Auditorium audiences welcome Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with great enthusiasm each Spring, knowing a joyful experience awaits, and this year's programming will be no exception. In this, the Company's 56^th visit to The Auditorium, we are saddened by the recent passing of the legendary Ailey dancer and Artistic Director, Judith Jamison, with whom we collaborated many times, but are pleased to pay tribute with a special opening night performance featuring an excerpt of Cry, the exuberant Ailey work that became her signature," said The Auditorium CEO Rich Regan. "And in addition to our public programming, we are proud to be offering two student performances by the Company this year, enabling The Auditorium to introduce thousands of students to this inspiring, dynamic company."

Chicago's own Vernard J. Gilmore will celebrate his farewell hometown engagement with Ailey, taking his final bow after 28 seasons with the Company. Currently the longest tenured Company member, the Englewood native began his professional dance training at Curie Performing and Creative Arts High School before receiving a scholarship to The Ailey School, performing with Ailey II, and joining Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1997.

In addition to the inspiring finale of Revelations for all performances, the programs for the 2025 Chicago engagement of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are as follows:   

Friday, March 7 at 7:30pm & Sunday, March 9, at 3pm

• Grace(1999, Chicago Premiere of 25th anniversary production) Set to Duke Ellington's classic "Come Sunday," Peven Everett's hit "Gabriel," and the irresistible pulse of Fela Kuti's Afro-Pop, Ronald K. Brown's spellbinding work depicts individuals on a journey to the promised land, expanding from a single angel-like figure in white to the fireball intensity of 12 powerful dancers. Here, the secular and sacred meet in a tour-de-force connecting African and American dance.
• Finding Free(2024, Chicago Premiere) by former Company member Hope Boykin who returns to explore personal freedoms in this collaboration with pianist Matthew Whitaker who is composing an original score. This insightful work uses Boykin's movement-language and Whitaker's jazz- and gospel-influenced music to examine the challenges and restrictions throughout life's peaks and valleys that propel the journey forward.

*Friday only: Special Opening Night excerpt of Cry as a tribute to Ms. Jamison.  

• Cryexcerpt (1971) Alvin Ailey choreographed the solo ballet, Cry, as a birthday present for his mother; it went on to become an enduring work of American art. First danced by the legendary Judith Jamison, an excerpt of this powerful work dedicated to "all black women everywhere - especially our mothers" will be performed on the opening night program (Friday, March 7) as a tribute to Ms. Judith Jamison, the beloved Company dancer and Artistic Director Emerita who passed away in late 2024.

Saturday, March 8 at 1pm & 7:30pm

• Sacred Songs(2024, Chicago Premiere) by Matthew Rushing features music used in the original 1960 premiere of Alvin Ailey's seminal Revelations but later omitted when the piece was edited into the current version that has captivated audiences for decades. Drawing inspiration from the roots of Mr. Ailey's most venerated and consummate creation, this stirring new work will resurrect and reimagine those spirituals—with the collaboration of musical director Du'Bois A'Keen—as an offering to our present need for lamentation, faith, and joy.
• Treading(1979, Chicago Premiere of new production) by Elisa Monte is a sculptural, mesmerizing duet featuring fluid, intricate movements that combine with Steve Reich's evocative music to create an aura of mystery and sensuality.
• Many Angels(2024, Chicago Premiere) by Lar Lubovitch in his first premiere for the Company, features the native Chicago choreographer's renowned lush choreography and musicality set to Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5.  Many Angels is inspired by a question posed by 13th century theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?," illustrating that some questions have no logical response but are understood as a question of faith.

Culminating each program will be Alvin Ailey's must-see American masterpiece Revelations, acclaimed around the world for sending hearts soaring and lifting audiences to their feet with its perfect blend of reverent grace and spiritual elation. Since its debut in 1960, Revelations has been moving audiences with its powerful storytelling and soul-stirring music, evoking timeless themes of determination, hope, and transcendence. An intimate reflection of Mr. Ailey's childhood memories of growing up in the South and attending services at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Texas, Revelations pays homage to the rich cultural heritage of the African American community and explores the emotional spectrum of the human condition. 

2025 Chicago program & performance schedule

Friday, March 7 at 7:30pm & Sunday, March 9, at 3pm

Grace, Finding Free, Cry* (excerpt), Revelations 

*Friday only: Special Opening Night excerpt of Cry as a tribute to Ms. Jamison.  

Saturday, March 8 at 1pm & 7:30pm

Sacred Songs, Treading, Many Angels, Revelations

In addition to these four public performances, the Company will present two student matinees at The Auditorium, reaching thousands of youths with an inspiring program of Ailey Classics on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7 at 11am. 

About Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congressional resolution as a vital American "Cultural Ambassador to the World," grew from a now-fabled March 1958 performance in New York that changed forever the perception of American dance. Forged during a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, the Company was established to uplift the African American experience while transcending boundaries of race, faith, and nationality with its universal humanity. Founded by Alvin Ailey, the posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation's highest civilian honor. Before his untimely death in 1989, Mr. Ailey named Judith Jamison as his successor, and for 21 years she led the Company to unprecedented success. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed for an estimated 25 million people in 71 countries on 6 continents—as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings, and online platforms—promoting the uniqueness of the African American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance tradition. In addition to being the Principal Dance Company of New York City Center, where its performances have become a year‐end tradition, the Ailey company performs annually at The Auditorium; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; The Fox Theatre in Atlanta; Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, CA, and at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark where it is the Principal Resident Affiliate, and appears frequently in other major theaters throughout the United States and the world during extensive yearly tours. The Ailey organization also includes Ailey II (1974), a second performing company of emerging young dancers and innovative choreographers; The Ailey School (1969), one of the most extensive dance training programs in the world; Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs, which brings dance into the classrooms, communities, and lives of people of all ages; and Ailey Extension (2005), a program offering dance and fitness classes to the general public, which began with the opening of Ailey's permanent home—the largest building dedicated to dance in New York City, the dance capital of the world—named The Joan Weill Center for Dance, at 55th Street at 9th Avenue in New York City. For more information, visit ailey.org.

The compelling story of the life, work, and legacy of Alvin Ailey is the subject of Portrait of Ailey, a new eight-part documentary series available for free on PBS LearningMedia. Created by Ailey II Artistic Director Emerita Sylvia Waters, Portrait of Ailey uses rare historical film and still images as well as contemporary footage to create a sweeping narrative of Mr. Ailey as a performer, choreographer, celebrity, teacher, social activist, arts advocate, and the creator of an enduring institution. All eight chapters are currently available online.

About The Auditorium

The Auditorium, located at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, is an Illinois not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural, community, and educational programming to all of Chicago and beyond as The Theatre for the People. The organization also is committed to the continued restoration and preservation of this National Historic Landmark that originally opened in 1889. The Auditorium's 2024-25 performance season features a dynamic mix of cultural events from ballet to rock and roll and everything in between. For more information on The Auditorium and a complete listing of events at The Auditorium, please visit AuditoriumTheatre.org.

The China Performing Arts Agency presented “Kunlun Myth,” an original musical from producer Wang Yu, for a two-night engagement at The Auditorium Theater of Roosevelt University. “Kunlun Myth” smartly incorporated ancient and modern concepts into an elegant, sparky performance and what better venue to perform than the Auditorium Theater. During this visually stunning show, The Auditorium was filled with an incredible energy. A number of bubbly performances, original dance productions and strong vocals made for a uniquely wonderful experience. 

The “Kunlun Myth” begins in the Kunlun Mountains (important fabled mountains in Chinese mythology) where the Heaven Pillar resides. This pillar connects Heaven and Earth, and serves as a portal between the two worlds. Deng Fei, a college student from Beijing, visits the Kunlun Mountains and discovers the relic of the Heaven Pillar. Deng Fei reads the pillar’s inscription and is abruptly transported to Heaven. Once there, he meets Mei Duo, the daughter of the Heaven pillar tribe’s chief. Deng Fei and Mei Duo fall in love. Deng Fei also meets Queen Mother who wishes to rebuild the Heaven Pillar because Gong Gong knocked it down. Gong Gong does not want the pillar rebuilt because he fears that the disasters from Earth will travel through the pillar and destroy Heaven. Ultimately, Deng Fei is on a quest for self-knowledge, and returns back to Earth in good spirit. 

Properly capturing the mystical Kunlun Mountains on stage would seem like a difficult feat, but set designers were successfully able to create the magical mountains. Elaborate patterns and set pieces were jaw-droppingly beautiful. The creative juices were really flowing. The lighting designs were dramatic and impressive. Neon lights accentuated set pieces and made the stage pop with color.

From gold, shimmering gowns to casual khakis, the costume department was superb. Every single costume was elegant in its own way, whether it was Mei Duo’s dress, or Gong Gong’s suit of amour. The only character without an elegant costume was Deng Fei, who sported a Yankee snapback, green windbreaker, and khakis.

Beautiful vocals and powerful music made the auditorium rumble. Music styles ranged from pop, rock, and hip hop. Mai Duo sang beautifully, definitely goosebump worthy. Gong Gong had deep, commanding vocals which set the show’s deep and dark mood. 

Kunlun Myth was performed in Chinese, with English subtitles to aid audience’s understanding. There were no subtitles for dialogue, only for the musical numbers. Audience members who could not understand Chinese that may have been lost during the dialogue relied on body language to help understand. Since the dialogue was in Chinese, much was left for interpretation. 

Performances were held on Wednesday, Sept. 2 @ 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Sept. 3 @ 7:30 p.m.