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Chicago Dance Crash is an American hip hop/ contemporary dance company based in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. The company tours year round while sustaining a calendar year ‘season’ of local premiers and commercial work as well as a spring/fall educational outreach program. The company has received widespread critical acclaim while being considered one of the most notable American dance companies to emerge during the first decade of the 2000s. Established in 2002, the organization has commissioned well over 100 original works from choreographers including Harrison McEldowney,
James Morrow James Morrow (born March 17, 1947) is an American novelist and short-story writer known for filtering large philosophical and theological questions through his satiric sensibility. Most of Morrow's oeuvre has been published as science fiction ...
, Davis Robertson, Amirah Sackett and Nicholas Leichter. Crash is led by artistic director Jessica Deahr, executive director Mark Hackman and is a resident company of Visceral Dance Center in Chicago, IL.


History

Chicago Dance Crash was founded by
Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...
graduates Marissa Moritz, Charlie Cutler and Mark Hackman as a professional outlet for works the trio had created as students. Admittedly to satisfy the individual talents of the three (Cutler an actor, Hackman a martial artist and Moritz a modern dancer), early productions utilized dance and acrobatics while forwarding a linear, conflict-driven story. The company's first performances took place at the 60-seat, historical Mary-Arrchie Theater in Chicago's Northeast neighborhood of Buena Park. Crash's first production, titled ''The Mercutio Story'', soon after extended to several performances across the city including the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at
Navy Pier Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family ...
and ultimately performing at “The Space” storefront theater in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Crash incorporated on December 23, 2003, employed its first artistic director in 2003 and established its current local season structure in 2005. Adopting a company dancer formation in 2007, the organization began touring nationally and internationally in 2012.


Artistic directors

* Christopher M. McCray (2003-2006) – Crash's first contracted artistic director, McCray's award-winning production ''Ghost Play'' cemented the company's local significance while establishing its consistent season of premieres. McCray has gone on to direct Corpo Dance Company and now choreographs and performs internationally. * Kyle Vincent Terry (2006-2010) – Terry had performed with Crash since 2003 and was promoted from a senior company position. Notably founding Crash's signature production, ''The Keeper of The Floor'', Terry established the organization's current eight-member formation with works including an interpretation of ''
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
'' and the
kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...
-inspired production ''Tiger Prawn: The Mountain Mover''. Terry has gone on to direct the arts organization TheMASSIVE and since 2013 has enjoyed a stage and film career in New York City. * Jessica Deahr (2012–present) – Deahr had performed with Crash since 2007. Originally hired by Terry, Deahr's most poignant accomplishments include choreographing and directing the organization's 10th anniversary production of ''Gotham City'' as well as its 15-year anniversary production of ''The Bricklayers of Oz'', both of which have led to national notoriety and have aided in Deahr's restructuring Crash's business model to include a steady touring program.


Style and notoriety


Fusion-style

The prevailing aesthetic of Chicago Dance Crash has been cited as "fusion-style," generally referred to as the blending of unalike dance forms but more culturally recognized as the specific combination of hip hop dance aspects (including
breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...
,
popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) cultural movement in Oakland, California. As Boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as Robottin in Richmond, California, Strutting movements in San Francisco and San J ...
,
krump Krumping is a style of street dance popularized in the United States, described as Afro-diasporic dance, characterized by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement. Dancers who started krumping saw the dance as a means for the ...
, among others) with the influence of "concert dance" vocabulary and direction (
modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...
,
jazz dance Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz dance may allude to vernacular jazz about to Broadway or dramatic jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of danc ...
,
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
). The term "fusion-style" was originally coined by Chicago-raised dancer and choreographer
James Morrow James Morrow (born March 17, 1947) is an American novelist and short-story writer known for filtering large philosophical and theological questions through his satiric sensibility. Most of Morrow's oeuvre has been published as science fiction ...
whose company "Instruments of Movement" championed the style regionally from 2001–2009. As two of Crash's founders (Moritz and Hackman) as well as all three of Crash's artistic directors had previously danced under Morrow, it's been publicly stated that Crash's aesthetic is attributed to his work.


Movement plays

Although not historically an unknown concept to live dance performance, Crash gained early support among critics and fans due largely to their creation of evening-length, linear plot-based works which they dubbed "movement plays"... a format less utilized in Chicago during the turn of the millennium. A device still used by the organization today, the shows often complement larger-spanning concepts with
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
façades; commenting on morality, religion and politics with comic book settings, video game references and onstage spectacles.


KTF

Second to the
Neo-Futurists The Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988, based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity. Neo-Futurists in theatre were inspired by the Italian Futurist movement from the early 20th century. Origin ...
show
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind ''Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes'' (Too Much Light or TML) was the longest running show in the history of theater in Chicago and was the only open-run Off-Off-Broadway show in New York. The show was originally perfor ...
, Chicago Dance Crash locally operates the longest-running live show in the history of Chicago. Opening on March 9, 2007 at the Lakeshore Theater, the company premiered an interactive dance battle titled ''The Keeper of The Floor'' (KTF for short) with dancers of differing styles competing in comical rounds towards a single champion of the night. Now performing at The Den Theater in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, the show's original late-night host was Reggie Watts and has been headlined by host Matthew Hollis, nicknamed "Mattrick Swayze," since 2008.


Critical reception and awards

Chicago Dance Crash was named “Best Dance Company” of 2009 by the Chicago Reader, "Best in Dance" for 2012 from the
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
and was recognized by
Newcity Newcity is a media company based in Chicago, founded in 1986 by Brian and Jan Hieggelke." It started as the ''Newcity'' independent, free weekly newspaper in Chicago. Effective March 2017, the founders changed the newspaper into a glossy monthly ...
as the best new dance company to emerge between 2000–2010 in their “Decade of Dance” publication. *AT&T Onstage Award, 2005 *The
Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ...
Award for Choreography, 2006 *The
Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center ...
Award, 2006 * Black Theater Alliance Awards, 2008 *"Best Dance Company of the Year" Chicago Reader, 2009 *"Outstanding Choreographer" Dance Chicago 2010 *Chicago Dance New Voice Award, 2011 *"Best in Dance" Chicago Tribune 2012 *Show of the Year, Breakdance Chicago, 2013 *CTT Inspiration Award, 2016 *"Most Inventive New Work" in the United States,
Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Point ...
2017 The company has received additional honors from
Americans for the Arts Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States. With offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, with more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to repr ...
, Dance for Life, the Illinois Arts Council, DCASE, The
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, the
World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
, Uniqlo and
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
among others.


References


External links


Official WebsiteOfficial Youtube ChannelChicago Dance Crash on InstagramChicago Dance Crash on Twitter
{{authority control Contemporary dance Hip hop dance Dance companies in Chicago Performing groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in Illinois