With their Winter Series program wrapping up last weekend at Harris Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago solidly defended their reputation as an internationally renowned contemporary dance company. more ›

The Keeper of the Floor (KTF) improv dance battle is a monthly series from the Chicago Dance Crash company, and something we have previously touted as a good opportunity to get introduced to the local dance scene. For those who shudder at the idea of a dance show its a great way to see something a bit more accesssible. The performances are meant to cater to the audience, which then chooses the winner of each dance competition. more ›

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. more ›

Gus Giordano, a man who left a substantial mark on the form of modern jazz dance, passed away last March, and now his Chicago dance company is honoring his legacy with a duel set of performances this weekend at Harris Theater. more ›

The Lou Conte Dance Studio is holding their Fall Open House this Sunday, offering free introductory dance classes in ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, Pilates, African and tap. Other freebies include a performance by Hubbard Street dancers and the chance to purchase two-for-one classes for the studio’s fall session block of classes. more ›

This month, you don’t have to be among the well-heeled to afford a ticket to the ballet. Quality ballet performances can be pretty gosh-durn expensive; don’t miss these chances to experience one of the most beautiful forms of dance for a relative steal. more ›

SummerDance is over for the year, but you shouldn’t be at a loss if you have a hankering to hunker down and learn a new dance form; there is no shortage of dance studios here. Dance instruction can be like the proverbial “box of chocolates”, and there are many teachers and studios in Chicago that have wonderful reputations for attentive, thorough and professional guidance in the field of dance. more ›

Next week, there are some great opportunities to watch free dance performances, ranging from international superstars in dance and choreography to some of Chicago’s emerging local talent. more ›

Next Monday, Millennium Park will be busting with Olympic spirit. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago are teaming up for a “Chicago Believes” fundraising event at Pritzker to support the 2016 Olympic bid. Hosted by Chicago 2016, the performance is part of a larger Olympic celebration that will include athletic demonstrations on the park’s Great Lawn, as well as a send-off to the Team USA members preparing to travel to Beijing. more ›

The title of Chicago Tap Theater's new production, The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen: a Superhero Tap Dance Opera piqued our interest immediately, but this show is no gimmick. The production is the collaborative brainchild of artistic director Mark Yonally and comic book artist Andrew Pepoy, and is meant to be a way for Yonally to further challenge his dancers, as well as the way his audiences see tap. more ›

Chicago SummerDance 2008 kicks off on June 12, and this year’s calendar looks to be stocked with a great variety of dance, integrating popular offerings like salsa and swing with Transylvanian Folk Dance and the Cajun Two Step. more ›

Summer Dance in Grant Park won’t start until June, but salsa aficionados can get their fix year-round at Nacional 27, a River North Latin restaurant that is transformed into a salsa dance club on the weekends. (Careful, the website has un-turn-offable music). Beginning at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, DJs spin salsa, meringue, and guebradita, and Nacional’s dining room becomes a dance floor. more ›

For anyone due for a romantic date, looking to entertain a young niece, or in the mood for something beautiful, American Ballet Theater is in town performing Sleeping Beauty – scored by Tchaikovsky and danced by some of the best classical dancers in the entire world. more ›

How many dance troupes in Chicago can claim that they dance off the ceiling as well as the floor? AMEBA can. Billing themselves as an acrobatic and aerial dance company, AMEBA’s choreography uses the trapeze, suspended scarves, bungee cords, rope ladders … and they climb all over each other, too. more ›

We sometimes wonder how many people think seeing a dance performance will be something like out of The Big Lebowski. But considering the depth and versatility of the Chicago dance scene, finding a dance show really becomes a matter of how you prefer to be entertained, rather than expecting to be disappointed. more ›