Article by Emma Halpern
Read full article on American Theatre’s website
Chicago Children’s Theatre and Imagination Stage are establishing fruitful partnerships to present dance/theatre to their audiences.
American Theatre‘s March 2016 issue explored how artists are combining theatre and dance in new and innovative ways. From director/choreographer Martha Clarke’s residency at New York City’s Signature Theatre, to a collaboration between San Francisco’s Zaccho Dance Theatre and American Conservatory Theater (ACT), a hybrid form of performance, often referred to as “dance/theatre,” is taking shape across the country.
Dance/theatre is also making its mark in theatre for young audiences (TYA), which shouldn’t be a surprise considering the large presence devised theatre and interdisciplinary partnerships have had in the field for years. The fact that 3.5 million children receive dance instruction in the U.S. suggests that dance may have built-in fan base in young audiences as well.
“The thing I love about dance is it overcomes so many barriers, one being language,” says Jacqueline Russell, artistic director of Chicago Children’s Theatre. “I’ve found it transcends age groups more easily too. I think this really allows for a much broader reach.”
CCT will present Thodos Dance Chicago’s A Light in the Dark this October, a dance/theatre piece co-choreographed by Thodos artistic director Melissa Thodos and Tony winner Ann Reinking. The show, which runs Oct. 15-23, combines dialogue, contemporary dance, and an original score by Bruce Wolosoff to tell the story of Helen Keller.
“Because this is a narrative story, there’s still a way to hook a lot of theatre into it,” says Russell. “But you’re really seeing it through that abstraction of dance.”
A previous collaboration by Thodos and Reinking, The White City: Chicago’s Coloumbian Exposition of 1893, was inspired by the Chicago World’s Fair murders. The two wanted to take a different approach with their next partnership.
“We wanted to tell a story that could reach families – a more intimate story that hadn’t been done in dance before,” explains Thodos. “We also wanted to use dance as a medium to tell an important story in American history.”
The historical component was important to Russell too, as was the piece’s exploration of disability. “I remember reading the Helen Keller story and feeling personally affected by her life and accomplishments,” she says, explaining that curricula today don’t cover the story as much as they used to. “To find a piece like this that we could give more life to is a win-win.”
Thodos has also created a supplementary program about disability that can be performed alongside the ballet, either in school assemblies or for a school-aged audience at the theatre, complementing CCT’s work for and with children with special needs. “We create access for audiences with disabilities, but also want to get audience members without disabilities thinking,” adds Russell.