EMERGENCE
DANCE THEATRE

Emergence Dance Theatre (Emergence Productions) is the year-around producer of Dance Chicago. Emergence coordinates the Best of Dance Chicago Tour (local) and Stars of Dance Chicago Tour (International).

What is different about Dance Chicago and other showcases?

Answer – THE SHOW. All our shows are artistically driven to give audiences the best entertainment ride possible. We have 14 years of tuning shows to perfection with considerations of music, length of works, quality of works and performers to give audiences an optimum journey. Unlike other showcases that program from the point of view of the artist’s needs, we program from the audiences’ needs – making it a magical and inspirational experience.

Whether they are dancers from Joffrey, Giordano, Hubbard Street, the Dutch National Ballet or elsewhere, we focus on powerful works. We spend all year looking at 2,000 different dances – the competition is stiff - to get the best 200 works we can find.

We guarantee you that there is no better place to witness the finest Chicago dance entertainment than Dance Chicago.

The Stars of Dance Chicago is an international touring group that consists of Chicago's most vibrant dancers, choreographers and dance masters, selected by Artistic Director John Schmitz and Director of Foreign Exchange Director Altin Naska, to represent Dance Chicago.

Schmitz states: "They perform a dizzying premiere showcase where ballet mingles with jazz, modern mixes into hip-hop and tap burst onto the scene
in a brilliant kaleidoscope of dance. These choreographers aren't trying to reinvent the wheel - they've found new ways of making it roll. Whether they leave you speechless or screaming for more, these are the dances you will never forget. Toes tap, hips hop. Smooth moves on hard groves. The Stars
of Dance Chicago is about racing hearts, sweaty palms and unbridled passion. Who needs rhyme and reason when you've got the rhythm? This is new artistry in full Technicolor in a most exhilarating dance program."

The original performing ensemble, Emergence Dance Theatre, is a Chicago multi-disciplinary performing arts organization founded in 1984 by choreographer Sandra Schramel and John Leonard Schmitz
(Co-Founder of Dance Chicago). Using strong visual support, Emergence has referred to itself as "the dance company for people who like going to the movies." The troupe has been presented by such notable organizations as Cafe de la Danse and Theatre des Amandiers (Paris, France), The National Conference of Jungian Analysts, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, Knoxville Museum of Art, Lewis University among others. The Emergence repertoire creates visual dreamscapes by combining dance, theatre, film, music and visual art.  As early as 1986 the company presented early versions of Dance Chicago at its Dance Center for the Merging Arts in DeKalb.  It presented such companies as XSight!, Bod Eisen, Neta Pulvamacker, Ernst/Watson and many others.

Emergence created and manages the Dance Chicago Center, offering low-cost rentals and collaborative opportunities to numerous dance, music and theatre groups, at 1439 West Wellington, next to the Athenaeum Theatre. [More about the Dance Chicago Center]

Contact Emergence at
Emergence Dance Theatre