All stories by Lauren Warnecke on BroadwayStars

Friday, January 11, 2019

RE | Dance at Hamlin Park: There's puffy white clouds but also a wall as 10th anniversary show goes political by Lauren Warnecke

When going to a RE | Dance Group show, there are a couple things you can usually count on: 1) unapologetically long passages of pretty dancing; 2) poetry woven into the fabric of the dance w…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:00AM
Thursday, January 3, 2019

Dance in Chicago in 2019: Must-sees this winter include Akram Khan’s ‘Giselle’ and something brand new at Joffrey by Lauren Warnecke

Winter used to be a rather dormant time for dance, but in 2019 the colder months bring some of the most exciting dance events of the year. Winter is typically a time when touring companies r…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Monday, December 31, 2018

Claire Bataille, founding member of Hubbard Street Dance, dies at 66 by Lauren Warnecke

Claire Anne Bataille, founding member of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and director of the Lou Conte Dance Studio, died Sunday morning with her two sons at her side, according to son Isaac So…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM
Thursday, December 27, 2018

Chicagoan of the Year: Nan Giordano stays behind the scenes in her all-out dance company by Lauren Warnecke

Nan Giordano doesn’t like the spotlight. She’d rather not give curtain speeches, preferring to greet her guests from Row R at the Harris Theater, across the aisle from R1, a seat adorned…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 06:00AM
Sunday, December 16, 2018

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater: New 'Parallel Lives' and others are added to older works like 'Heaven' by Lauren Warnecke

Since Deeply Rooted Dance Theater kicked off its “Generations” program in 2013, the company has been consciously digging into its archives, pairing new works with old ones to create prog…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:15AM
Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Best in Chicago Dance in 2018: Bold moves, Baryshnikov and old moves made new by Lauren Warnecke

This year, Chicago’s dance stages were filled with bold, ambitious programming, stunning revivals and work which responded to the present by reflecting on the past. It goes without saying …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Monday, December 10, 2018

It's the dancing that saves 'Tidings of Tap' at the North Shore Center for the Arts by Lauren Warnecke

Returning to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Sunday, Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) once again delighted Skokie’s dance audiences with the company’s annual holiday special, “…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:30PM
Thursday, December 6, 2018

It's not a poetry reading or a typical dance, and 'What Remains' wasn't made for Chicago — but it feels like it was by Lauren Warnecke

The MCA Warehouse is off the beaten path, in a nondescript industrial area of the city that, unlike the now-swanky West Loop, is still rather industrial. Watching a performance on the second…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:00PM
Wednesday, November 28, 2018

How the Joffrey's new 'Nutcracker' chose the Chicago's World's Fair for its setting by Lauren Warnecke

It was a nearly impossible feat, a glorious White City, the size and scale of which is almost unimaginable, glistening at the heart of a city that, 20 years earlier, burned almost entirely t…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Saturday, November 17, 2018

Combine dance companies Ate9, Visceral, Deeply Rooted with the dummer from Wilco — and it mostly works by Lauren Warnecke

They’re calling it “3-1-2,” this season, a revamp of the Auditorium Theatre’s “Made in Chicago” series, which for several years has provided a platform for local dance companies …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:30PM
Saturday, November 10, 2018

Childish Gambino song tells you what Red Clay’s ‘Eliki Munda’ is about — but it’s also more complicated by Lauren Warnecke

Through Saturday at the Dance Center, “Eliki Munda | What Lies Within” has been a decade in the making. Shortly before Vershawn Sanders-Ward formed her Red Clay Dance Company on Chicago�…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:15PM
Friday, November 9, 2018

Miami City Ballet at the Harris review: Two-thirds nostalgia, one-third choreographer Brian Brooks by Lauren Warnecke

“It’s our birthday!” said Patricia Barretto, president and CEO of the Harris Theater, in her Thursday night curtain speech. It was 15 years to the day since the underground marvel open…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 10:40AM
Monday, November 5, 2018

Ballet Folklorico de Mexico is traditional — it has to be — but it's also changing for the times by Lauren Warnecke

The Palacio de Bellas Artes is a majestic art nouveau gem in the heart of Mexico City, standing on the edge of the oldest urban green space in the Americas, the Alameda Central. Considered o…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 05:00PM
Saturday, October 27, 2018

Here's how Giordano fills the Harris Theater better than any other dance company by Lauren Warnecke

The Harris Theater can be a tough space for dance companies, swallowing up the subtleties of fine-tuned gestures, text or facial expressions. It’s got a chilly subterranean atmosphere that…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:30PM
Friday, October 19, 2018

At the Dance Center, Tere O’Connor’s ‘Long Run’ asks what it means to be present by Lauren Warnecke

Choreographer Tere O’Connor splits his time between New York and Champaign, where he is a professor in the dance department at the University of Illinois. As the occasional U. of I. alum h…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:45AM
Thursday, October 18, 2018

'Swan Lake' is a new Joffrey treasure — Christopher Wheeldon's changed ending and all by Lauren Warnecke

When you consider that just a few months ago dancers of the Joffrey Ballet were standing at the lip of the Auditorium Theatre’s stage in their underwear as part of Alexander Ekman’s “M…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:45AM
Tuesday, October 16, 2018

‘Swan Lake’ is the ballet everyone knows and loves — the Joffrey is bringing it back by Lauren Warnecke

Every great city with a great ballet company deserves a great “Swan Lake,” and until recently, Chicago didn’t really have a full-scale production to call our own. Sure, the pre-profess…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Friday, October 12, 2018

Asherie Dance's 'Odeon' has upbeat street dance, Latin dance — but the scene of violence didn't work for me by Lauren Warnecke

If break dancing and bossa nova had a baby, it might look something like the style of Ephrat Asherie Dance, which performs its evening-length Chicago debut titled “Odeon” through Saturda…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:45PM
Friday, October 5, 2018

'Unwanted' at MCA is a harrowing choreographed work about rape, focusing on Rwanda by Lauren Warnecke

The first thing you’ll notice walking into the Edlis Neeson Theater at the MCA for “Unwanted” is a striking, free-standing mural placed just off-center on the stage. The corrugated met…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:00PM
Saturday, September 22, 2018

Everything from duets to grunge to high-energy jazz dance at Harvest Dance Fest by Lauren Warnecke

A chicly renovated lobby and some important behind-the-scenes updates to the beloved Ruth Page Center for the Arts have made a once-dilapidated space fresh and inviting for the ninth edition…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:15PM
Saturday, September 15, 2018

The Dance COLEctive resurfaces with 'REboot' at Dovetail Studios by Lauren Warnecke

In 2016, veteran choreographer, dancer and educator Margi Cole announced she was folding her Dance COLEctive ensemble after 20 years of operation. Rather than continuing as a conventional da…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:25AM
Friday, September 14, 2018

Dance works 'IS/LAND' and ‘Burrow, Tousle’ present very different versions of home by Lauren Warnecke

Entering Links Hall’s Studio A Thursday night, there was a cozy living room vibe with just two rows of seating and warm lamp lighting from a gaggle of incandescent table lamps spread aroun…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 11:05AM
Thursday, September 6, 2018

From Harvest Fest to Joffrey to a visit from Miami, 10 dance events coming this fall by Lauren Warnecke

When that first chill hits the air, it brings a wave of concert dance that’s been fairly dormant during the dog days of summer. Think not about “Nutcrackers”; now is the time to see da…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 09:00AM

Roell Schmidt directs Links Hall in 40th season, with no time to look back by Lauren Warnecke

When experimental choreographers Bob Eisen, Carol Bobrow and Charlie Vernon rented a studio space together in 1978, they surely didn’t predict it would be around 40 years later. They calle…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Amid change and new faces, Dance Center kicks off season with hip-hop-influenced 'Odeon' by Lauren Warnecke

Now in its 45th season, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago has grown from a small building in Uptown, isolated from Columbia’s main campus, to a four-story facility in the heart …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM
Monday, August 13, 2018

'Dance for Life' will feature Chicago's top dance companies and honor Lou Conte and Nan Giordano by Lauren Warnecke

On Saturday, the dance community will gather for “Dance for Life,” a must-see annual staple on Chicago’s summer dance calendar. If you’re interested in dance, “Dance for Life” is…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:30PM
Friday, August 10, 2018

'Set Free' at Links Hall: What if a dance had time to breathe and change? by Lauren Warnecke

In theater, it’s not uncommon for a production to have several weeks, if not months, of performances. The actors jell with each other and learn more about their characters. The director co…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM
Saturday, July 21, 2018

Human Rhythm Project’s 'JUBA!' review: The tap shoes are another jazzy instrument in the band by Lauren Warnecke

Here’s what I remember from playing in my high school jazz band for nine months: When improvising with other musicians, say “yes” to what they’re offering. Use the song’s base rhyt…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 01:00PM
Friday, July 20, 2018

'Mycelial: Street Parliament' review: Ever been invited to a dance about digital connection and your phone doesn't work? by Lauren Warnecke

How can it be that not one, but two dances this year are inspired by mushrooms? Now at the Hyde Park Art Center, Erica Mott Productions and Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble present “Mycelial: …

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 12:00PM
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

World-premiere 'Blackbird' from Aerial Dance Chicago, the only company doing this kind of work by Lauren Warnecke

On the heels of its 20th anniversary, Aerial Dance Chicago presents “Blackbird,” an ambitious full-length work highlighting the company’s signature blend of contemporary dance and aeri…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM
Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Dance in the Parks is back for 10th summer. It may be first time you've seen modern dance — so 'it has to be good' by Lauren Warnecke

Eleven years ago, a 20-minute phone call between Katie McCann and Krista Bryski-Richard resulted in Dance in the Parks, a nonprofit organization whose mission is pretty simple: They dance in…

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune Subscription at 08:00AM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime