Ever stopped to think about about how small the dance world really is?  You might be surprised to learn just how tightly knit the dance web is sewn.  Here’s the first of two blogs that look simply (or not so simply, as you’ll discover) at the artists performing in this year’s Chicago Dancing Festival.

We’ll start with Jonathan Alsberry, a Chicago Academy for the Arts grad, who’s no stranger to the Chicago Dancing Festival; he performed last year with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company at both the Harris Theater and Pritzker Pavilion stages. If you saw his dynamic, exciting performance in Lubovitch’s Concerto Six Twenty-Two last summer, you’ll know he’s not to be missed. If you haven’t seen him yet, don’t lose an opportunity this time around! Jonathan will be performing at the Modern Masters program at the Harris Theater on August 20 and the Celebration of American Dance performance at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage in Millennium Park on August 22.

Now here’s where things start to get even more interesting: Jonathan, who danced for Luna Negra Dance Theater before joining Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, also dances with Aszure Barton & Artists, with whom he and another Lubovitch dancer, Charlaine Katsuyoshi (formerly of Hubbard Street) recently spent residencies in both Florida and Banff, Canada earlier this year. Both Luna Negra and Aszure Barton & Artists appear in the Festival this year – Luna Negra at Modern Masters and Aszure Barton & Artists at New Voices.

Aszure Barton, by the way, is slated to create a new work for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.  You can get a taste of what’s in store for HSDC by checking out Ah! Crudel performed by her company at the New Voices program on August 18.

Next time we’ll take a look at another Chicago Academy for the Arts grad, Craig Hall, and his dance compatriots.

Tags: Aszure Barton, Chicago Academy for the Arts, contemporary dance, Hubbard Street, Jonathan Alsberry, Lar Lubovitch, Luna Negra
Posted in Performances