Giordano Dance Chicago, formerly Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Gus Giordano's Jazz Dance Chicago, is a

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 ...

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 ...

. Founded by

Gus Giordano Gus Giordano (July 10, 1923 – March 9, 2008
''New York Times'', March 13, 2008), born August Thomas Gi ...

in 1963 as Dance Incorporated Chicago, it has toured worldwide, including as the first jazz dance company in the Soviet Union in 1974. The company has received widespread critical acclaim, and is said to have been the first jazz dance company. The company comprises ten dancers as well as an apprentice company, Giordano II. Its repertoire includes Giordano's works as well as pieces by

Mia Michaels Mia Michaels Melchiona (known professionally as Mia Michaels; born February 22, 1966) is an American choreographer and judge on the television show ''So You Think You Can Dance''. She has worked with Tom Cruise, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, M ...

, Peter Chu, Ray Leeper, Roni Koresh, and

Rennie Harris Lorenzo Harris (born January 28, 1964) is a dancer, choreographer, artistic director and professor of hip-hop dance. Harris formed the first and longest running hip-hop dance touring company, Rennie Harris Puremovement in 1992. In 2007, he conceiv ...

. Gus's daughter, Nan Giordano is Artistic Director, and Michael McStraw is Executive Director.

History

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

performer

Gus Giordano Gus Giordano (July 10, 1923 – March 9, 2008
''New York Times'', March 13, 2008), born August Thomas Gi ...

founded the company as Dance Incorporated Chicago in 1963. After giving a performance for the visiting Bolshoi Ballet, the company was invited to tour the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in 1974. The company has since performed around Europe, the Americas, Turkey, and Japan. Giordano founded the Jazz Dance World Congress, a biennial five-day festival attracting teachers and students from around the world, in 1990. As the host company of the Congress, Giordano Dance Chicago performed at

Chukyo University is a private university in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with campuses in Nagoya and Toyota. The main building is located in Yagoto, Shōwa-ku, Nagoya. Notable faculty members * Naomi Miyake, cognitive scientist * Koji Murofushi, Olympic hammer t ...

in Japan, the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and in

Wiesbaden, Germany Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. After Gus Giordano died in 2008, his daughter Nan, who had been Artistic Director since the 1980s, took full leadership. In 2010, Michael McStraw was named Executive Director.

Current activity

The company performs in Chicago and around the world. It continues to preserve and perform Gus Giordano's oeuvre while commissioning new repertory. GDC runs several outreach programs, including a program integrating jazz dance into the health and science curricula of local middle schools, and “Jazz Dance Beat…Then and Now”, a concert and question-and-answer session designed to introduce audiences to jazz dance.

Style

The Giordano technique is characterized by "jazz hands" (held with fingers spread and charged with energy), isolated movements of particular body parts, an active pelvis, and precise, unconventional shoulder placement. Powerful jumps, turns, and traveling steps are prized. Giordano technique uses

plié Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language. A À la seconde () (Literally "to second") If a step is done "à la seconde," it is done to the side. 'Second position'. It can also ...

(bending of the legs) prominently, a characteristic Giordano linked to African cultures' connection to the Earth. Giordano arm and torso positionsusually open and slightly "scooped"are designed to require the dancer's energy and mental presence. Giordano movements are executed with "counterforce", an isometric resistance to the primary motion which creates an aesthetic of power and vitality, in contrast to other jazz dance styles' emphasis on elegance or finesse.

External links

Official site

References

{{authority control Contemporary dance companies Dance companies in Chicago