Hubbard Street Dance Chicago teams with Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Many a modern dance company would love to regularly perform with a live orchestra the way many ballet companies do. But with busy touring schedules and budgetary constraints, most modern dance companies can only dream about live accompaniment.
"When I first arrived in 2000, one of the objectives for me was to be able to perform to live music," said Jim Vincent, artistic director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. "To imagine that we'd be with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra the following year -- that was just not even in my wildest dreams."
Martha Gilmer, CSO vice president for artistic planning and audience development, extended the invitation for HSDC to be a part of the CSO's season when she learned that Vincent was choreographing "counter/part" to selections from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto at the precise time the Symphony was planning it.
"It's been a great collaboration for us all," Gilmer said, proudly pointing out that the past four CSO/HSDC concerts have sold out and attracted new audiences for both companies.
To mark the fifth collaboration between these two world-famous Chicago arts institutions, excerpts from Vincent's "counter/part" and Daniel Ezralow's "SF/LB" set to Leonard Bernstein's "Prelude, Fugue and Riffs" from past concerts will be featured. Also on the bill is Doug Varone's new dance work in development called "The Constant Shift of Pulse" set to music by composer John Adams ("Doctor Atomic"), plus an excerpt from Vincent's 2007 "Palladio" set to music of Karl Jenkins.
Though Vincent feels the expression "see the music and hear the dance" simplifies what is gained by live accompaniment, he does notice its effect on dancers.
"Literally I sometimes feel I can see the dancers' ears growing because they really have to focus at such a different level," Vincent said about adjusting away from recordings. "The concentration required and the interdependence of that relationship is where it comes to life."
"You can feel it in the air when working," said HSDC dancer Jamy Meek about the extraordinary chance to work live with musicians of this caliber. "Sharing this moment with another person makes you really aware and pay attention to what they're giving you."
Many CSO musicians are also very impressed by the HSDC collaboration.
"It's gratifying to see a full house and enthusiastic audiences seeing and hearing us, many for the first time," said CSO assistant principal clarinetist John Bruce Yeh.
"The dancers have become friends and colleagues now. It's great to hear that this collaboration has opened new doors for them."
Indeed, the success of these joint CSO concerts has led to invitations for HSDC to perform with other orchestras in North America such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. A future date for HSDC and the St. Louis Symphony is also in the cards.
For Vincent, the gift of performing with the CSO has helped HSDC to grow both artistically and in stature.
"It's really broadening the horizons for us as performers and for performing with other world-class orchestras and conductors," Vincent said. "It just makes our lives that much more exciting and interesting, and at the same time, challenging."
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Where: Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
When: 8 p.m. today
Tickets: $17-$110
Phone: (312) 294-3000