Dance Center Artistic Director Meredith Sutton spoke with Natya Dance Theatre’s Hema Rajagopalan about the company’s upcoming 50th anniversary concerts at the Dance Center March 19 - 21, 2026.
Dance Center Artistic Director Meredith Sutton spoke with The Seldoms’ Founding Artistic Director Carrie Hanson about the long-awaited Chicago premiere of Floe coming to the Dance Center March 12 - 13, 2026.
We were honored that Sharon Hoyer of New City Stage picked our Artistic and Producing Directors as part of their 50 Players for Chicago in 2026.
Chicago Tribune critic Lauren Warnecke highlights The Seldoms’ “Floe” as one of this winter’s top picks for Chicago Dance.
The Chicago Tribune’s Lauren Warnecke celebrates Erin Kilmurray, fellow Dance Center and Columbia College Chicago Alum as Chicagoan of the Year in Dance. Dance Presenting Series artist Kilmurray reflects on what’s next after ‘The Fly Honey Show.’
We invited a few students to reflect on their experience of the What is Contemporary? Symposium, the fall 2025 edition of this annual gathering.
What Is Contemporary? Symposium 2025, hosted by the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, explored the idea of ‘contemporary’ and the many meanings it takes on in reference to dance. The conference acknowledged that the word contemporary has a definitive meaning - ‘belonging to or happening now’ – while also recognizing that when paired with the word ‘dance’ (i.e., contemporary dance), takes on vastly different definitions from artist to artist. In this three-day symposium, dancers, academics, and professionals in the dance field contemplated this word contemporary – and in term contemporary dance – to not define it, but to understand what the complexity of the word means for the dance industry. Kaleigh Dent synthesizes some of the conversations and threads that emerged over the course of the symposium and related events.
Timothy Tsang (BA, Dance 2017) returns to the Dance Center to present a workshop on his current research into Leslie Cheung, the Hong Kong pop icon whose concerts and films have become central to queer cultural memory as part of our Fall 2025 symposium. Here, Timothy reflects on What is Contemporary?
Raynner Garcia (BFA, Musical Theatre ‘26) shares his experience of the National Association for American African Dance Teacher’s annual dance intensive NANIGO 2025 in this reflection. “Just a block from the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, the Autin Lo’Ren Studio was full of warmth and rhythm the moment we stepped in. You could feel the energy pulsing before any music played; it was a community in motion. As someone with limited experience in Umfundalai, I came with a few nerves, but the generosity of the community quickly washed those away. That is the essence of Umfundalai. More than a technique, t’s a philosophy rooted in Diasporic movement traditions, ancestral connection, and the beauty of the African body.”
