Monday, November 4, 2024
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (in person)
915 E 60th St, Chicago, IL 60637
FREE
As this is the final DanceChance of the year, there will be a prize drawing at this event, but no pulling names from the hat.
Accessibility: The building and dance space are wheelchair accessible via elevator. ASL Interpretation, C.A.R.T. / Captioning, and Audio Description may be available upon request.
Participating Artists
Beverly Perkins began her dance journey in 1979. After many years of intense study of both, West African and Caribbean dance and culture, she was given many opportunities to travel globally and perform before international audiences. Beverly has performed with West Indian Folk Dance Company, Sundance Multiple Performing Arts Company, and Muntu Dance Theater. She also participated in the 2018 Windy City Carnival with Team Jukeboxx Mas Band (1st place winners). Throughout her dance career, her vision has been the continued perpetuation of African-American culture in its truest form. Her love of dance has connected her to the art of Chicago Steppin’, a social dance coined the “Ballroom Dance of the African-American community”. She finds this dance form to be a perfect expression of her inner Spirit.
Description of Project/Practice: “Steppin”, is a partner dance characterized by smooth, elegant synchronized movements. As the dancers move, they display an emotional connection to the music, telling a story through dance. My aim is to show that stepping transcends all genres of music.
Dancers: Beverly Perkins with Claudell Jackson and Samuel Perkins
Sauvignon AKA Brian Lu is a Taiwanese American dancer and filmmaker based in Chicago, IL. As a multidisciplinary artist, he creates dance documentaries that honor the culture and community of the freestyle scene. He is currently working on a short film “Top 16” which explores the communal nature of dance battles and expands our definition of participation and performance. His art practice draws from his experience as a freestyle dancer and battler; his background as a dance videographer; and his professional work as a documentary filmmaker. Through this amalgamation of experiences, he has developed a creative practice built upon cinéma vérité storytelling and astute attention to movement and rhythm. He is a proud member of the Asian American Documentary Network and co-founder of the Chicago-based Red Door Media Collective. He was an assistant editor on Dissidents (2024) which premiered at the VC Film Fest. His first documentary feature “idols” is in progress, and has been supported by the CID’s Kopkind Residency, A-Doc Allies, and the Kartemquin Films Lab. Recently, he became a 2024-2025 Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellow for emerging documentary film editors.
Description of Project/Practice: Sauvignon AKA Brian Lu’s dancemaking practice focuses on blending dance and documentary, telling real stories through music and movement.
Collaborators: Zhané Croft and Jingwen Zhang
Lo Martinez is a dancer from Chicago, IL. She began studying tap at the age of 7. Her love for dance grew into a passion by her teenage years and she expanded her studies at Columbia College in 2003. There, she studied Ballet, Hip-Hop, African and Latin dance. For the past 25 years, Lauren has had the opportunity to study and teach in such respected dance cities as New York, Chicago, New Orleans and Orlando. Workshops with Debbie Allen, Laurianne Gibson, Dave Scott, Mr. Wiggles and “Crazy Leg” have helped enhance her skill to be able to teach a wide demographic of dance students. She has taught over 7000 students throughout the course of her dance career. Ms. Martinez has worked with an extensive list of artists: Janet Jackson and Jon Bon Jovi for the Oprah Show, Mya, Twista, Beenie Man, Usher to name a few. Professionally, Lo has toured as a dancer/choreographer and has been embedded in the majority of Chicago’s professional dance scene. Her goal is to pass on her love and her knowledge of dance to Chicago’s youth. Austin Lo’ren Dance Academy was a longtime dream for Lo Martinez (Choreographer and Dance Instructor ) who wanted to bring the artistry of dance to South loop and the Chicagoland surrounding communities. Opening Austin Lo’ren Dance Academy has been an exciting endeavor as she shares her love and passion of artful dance with children as young as 1 year old and adults alike emphasizing technique, discipline, and commitment. They specialize in Ballet, Modern/Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop, Yoga, including adult Fitness for those students who want to advance their technique and/or just to get in shape. As they begin their six season having served over 1500 families and hosting 20-25 classes per week in the South Loop. MANIFESTO:Through Austin Lo’ren Dance Academy, our desire is to foster a learning environment for dancers ages 1 through adults. We believe that dance is an important tool for expression and growth. Dance is a transcendent outlet-a language that all people can speak. Austin Lo’ren intends to give back to the community through free performances at local nursing homes, hospitals and community outreach events, while also providing dancers frequent opportunities to perform for both large and small audiences. Austin Lo’ren Dance Academy is a premier dance facility in Chicago, providing the best in skilled instruction to prepare our dancers for top competition and a life enhanced by dance!
Description of Project/Practice: I will be performing a dance piece about being free…
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