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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is a
contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...
company based in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Hubbard Street performs in downtown
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and at the Edlis Neeson Theater at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago is a contemporary art art gallery, museum near Water Tower Place in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is on ...
. Hubbard Street also tours nationally and internationally throughout the year.


History

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago grew out of the Lou Conte Dance Studio, when in 1977 several aspiring young artists approached dance teacher/choreographer Lou Conte to teach tap classes. At the time, the studio was located at the corner of LaSalle Street and Hubbard Street, which is how the company acquired its name. Conte served as director for 23 years, during which he developed relationships with choreographers including
Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Aileen Taylor-Corbett (December 2, 1946 – January 12, 2025) was an American choreographer, director, lyricist and composer. Life and career Lynne Taylor-Corbett was born in Denver, Colorado on December 2, 1946. She grew up in the area a ...
,
Margo Sappington Margo Sappington (born July 30, 1947, in Baytown, Texas) is an American choreographer and dancer. She was nominated in 1975 for both a Tony Award as Best Choreographer and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the play ...
, Daniel Ezralow,
Nacho Duato Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia, also known as Nacho Duato (born 8 January 1957) is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. Since 2014, Duato has been artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet. He is openly gay. Career Nacho Duato st ...
, Jirí Kylián, and
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...
, all of whom helped shape Hubbard Street's repertoire. In 2000, Jim Vincent became Artistic Director. Vincent worked to further expand the company's programming and repertoire. He introduced initiatives that have become staples of Hubbard Street's programming, including the "Inside/Out" Choreography Workshop, during which Hubbard Street dancers create original choreography for their peers; and the Choreographic Fellowship, which identifies and develops emerging choreographers from within the company. Dancers Alejandro Cerrudo and Robyn Mineko Williams, as well as Rehearsal Director Terence Marling have all developed works for the company. Dancer Penny Saunders choreographed a work for Hubbard Street 2 (the second company) through Hubbard Street's annual National Choreographic Competition. In 2009, then Associate Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton became Artistic Director. Soon after, he named Alejandro Cerrudo Hubbard Street's first Resident Choreographer. Cerrudo has created ten works for the company. Since becoming Artistic Director, Edgerton has secured new commissions and repertoire hits by master and notable choreographers including Jirí Kylián,
Nacho Duato Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia, also known as Nacho Duato (born 8 January 1957) is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. Since 2014, Duato has been artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet. He is openly gay. Career Nacho Duato st ...
, William Forsythe,
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...
,
Ohad Naharin Ohad Naharin (; born 1952) is an Israeli choreographer, contemporary dancer, and creator and teacher of a unique system/language/pedagogy of dance called Gaga. He served as artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company from 1990; he stepped down i ...
, Victor Quijada,
Aszure Barton Aszure Barton is a Canadian-born choreographer. Career Aszure Barton was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She received her formal training at the National Ballet School in Toronto, where, as a student, she helped originate the ongoing Steph ...
, and Sharon Eyal. In 2021, former company dancer Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell was named the fourth Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Season 44: RE/CHARGE marks her debut season as the artistic leader of the organization, with the goal of continuing to diversify the company’s repertoire and ensemble while building on the incredible legacy and reputation that HSDC has already established.


Main company

Today, the main company consists of 14 dancers. While many contemporary dance companies are single-choreographer organizations, Hubbard Street has always been a repertory company, representing numerous choreographers and styles. Hubbard Street has commissioned and presented almost 200 new and acquired dance works throughout its history.


Lou Conte Dance Studio

Under the direction of the late Claire Bataille, one of the original four Hubbard Street dancers, Lou Conte Dance Studio (LCDS) offered weekly classes in
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...
, tap, African,
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
, African drums,
musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...
,
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
,
Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". Pilates uses a combination of around 50 repetitive e ...
, and
Zumba Zumba is a fitness program that involves cardio and Latin-inspired dance. It was founded by Colombian dancer and choreographer Beto Pérez in 2001. It currently has 200,000 locations, with 15 million people taking classes weekly, and is locat ...
at all levels from basic to professional, as well as workshops and master classes. LCDS also maintained a scholarship program for advanced dancers. LCDS closed in the spring of 2020.


Community partnerships

Since 2000, Hubbard Street has established partnerships with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...
, presenting new and existing choreography set to orchestral music performed by the symphony; the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
;
Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...
School of Architecture; and
Rush University Medical Center Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is an academic medical center in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the hospital for the Rush University System for Health, which includes Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rus ...
, which helped establish the Parkinson's Project, using contemporary dance techniques to improve the mobility and quality of life for participants.


Dancers


Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

:''Source: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago'' *Aaron Choate *Abdiel Figueroa Reyes *Alexandria Best *Alysia Johnson *Cyrie Topete *David Schultz *Elliot Hammans *Jack Henderson *Jacqueline Burnett *Matt Wenckowski *Michele Dooley *Morgan Clune *Shota Miyoshi *Simone Stevens


References


External links

*
"Expressing Themselves in New Ways: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Whole School Dance Program", National Endowment for the Arts, NEA Arts 2007, Volume 4

SeeChicagoDance.com profile and list of upcoming performances

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performing in Nine Sinatra Songs in 1993 at Jacob's Pillow

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performing Untouched in 2010 at Jacob's PillowHubbard Street Dance Chicago Records
a
the Newberry LibraryChicago Dance History Project: Gail KalverChicago Dance History Project: Rick Hilsabeck
{{authority control Performing groups established in 1977 Dance companies in Chicago