Chicago Is The Focus For Thodos Dance's Saturday Show At Auditorium Theatre

By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 28, 2014 6:50PM

The White City. Photo by Cheryl Mann.

It’s only fitting that Thodos Dance Chicago would kick off their Chicago-themed season with an entry into the Auditorium Theatre’s “Made in Chicago” series this Saturday. As the Auditorium celebrates their 125th Anniversary season, they’ve welcomed many local companies and artists like Thodos and choreographer Sybil Shearer. The one-night-only program will feature three works from the Chicago modern dance legend, including the Thodos premiere of two of her pieces. It’s also a chance to see her “masterful” work, ”Time Longs for Eternity” from 1961. Archival footage of Shearer dancing the same works will be projected as the Thodos dancers perform, giving a unique past-meets-present perspective.

The evening will begin though, with a reprise of The White City, Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, a ballet created by TDC Founder and Artistic Director Melissa Thodos and choreographer Ann Reinking that’s based on the popular novel The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The piece debuted in 2011 and was named “best dance performance” by the Sun Times. The Auditorium Theatre itself shares some interesting history with the subject matter, having opened one year before the Columbian Exposition, and was designed by architect Louis Sullivan, one of the major players in Larson’s book.

Also on the program are works from Hubbard Street Dance Rehearsal Director Lucas Crandall and Brian Enos. It will be a jam-packed evening for sure, and one not to be missed.

The Thodos Dance Chicago “Made in Chicago” dance series begins at 7:30 pm on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Auditorium Theatre (50 E Congress Pkwy). Tickets are $27 - $67.