Your Dose of Dance: Dance Chicago

The 2008 Dance Chicago festival, a three-week long dance smorgasbord featuring 130 companies performing over 300 works, kicked off last Friday with three opening weekend performances packed with a variety of dance genres and styles. Among the many dancers and dance companies hitting the stage at the Athenaeum Theatre were the World Champion Trinity Irish Dancers, Moscow Ballet, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Chicago's Mexican Dance Ensemble, all coming together to create a diverse program showcasing ballet, tap, urban, Irish, character, jazz and contemporary dance.

The festival picks up again this evening with the first of two Dance Slam programs: local up-and-coming dancers perform short five minute pieces and the audience votes on the winner. Other notables from the month-long line-up include a Choreographer’s Showcase highlighting some of the festival’s best choreography, a Cabaret-themed performance, and several kid-centric matinee shows. Actually, our head is spinning with all the dance events included in the program, so just check out the Dance Chicago schedule to get a full listing of this year’s performances.

Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., 11/7 - 11/30, performance times vary, check website for pricing information

Image via Dance Chicago website