Top dance troupes kick off season with a premiere and a revival
BY HEDY WEISS Dance Critic/hweiss@suntimes.com October 11, 2012 7:18PM
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Anna Lopez and Garrett Anderson perform “One Thousand Pieces” in front of its inspiration: Marc Chagall’s “America Windows” at the Art Institute of Chicago. | TODD ROSENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY
Updated: November 15, 2012 6:23AM
This city’s two most formidable dance companies — Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet — are opening their fall seasons within a day of each other this week.
Hubbard Street will be sounding the trumpet for the start of its 35th season as an internationally acclaimed contemporary dance troupe with the world premiere of “One Thousand Pieces,” the company’s first full-length work. Created by its resident choreographer, Alejandro Cerrudo, it is inspired by Marc Chagall’s cobalt-blue, stained-glass “America Windows” — the mural-like work on permanent view at the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Joffrey Ballet, which will be dancing a program of three works under the umbrella title “Human Landscapes,” is celebrating a different sort of landmark. In addition to presenting ballets by Jiri Kylian and James Kudelka — two late 20th century innovators — it is staging an 80th anniversary revival of the landmark anti-war ballet “The Green Table (A Danse Macabre in Eight Scenes).” Kurt Jooss’ German Expressionist masterpiece has been a cornerstone of the company’s repertoire since 1967.
Click the Related Stories links for a closer look at both programs.
