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EMERGENCE DANCE
THEATRE
Emergence Dance Theatre (Emergence Productions) is the year-around producer of Dance Chicago. It co-ventures the month long festival with SCT Productions/Athenaeum Theatre. 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 12 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, not simply the company’s name or individual artists. 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.
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
john@dancechicago.com
JOHN
SCHMITZ (Founder and Artistic Director) handles all the programming, artistic decisions and fund-raising for Emergence Dance Theatre which includes the production of Dance Chicago. John has been producing inventive dance events for 25 years, promoting alliances and collaborations between artists and dance organizations both nationally and internationally. Locally he has managed Ballet Chicago, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, The Joel Hall Dancers, The Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, Rockford Dance Company, as well as Emergence Dance Theatre, who co-ventures with SCT Productions to produce Dance Chicago. He was Member of the Chicago Community Trust's Dance Advisory Committee. In 1995, he and partner Fred Solari were honored as two of Chicago Tribune's “Chicagoans of the Year.” He has been a professional dancer, lighting designer and media artist, performing and designing dance productions nationally and internationally. John's recent projects include the Dance Chicago Choreography Project, the International Exchange Program, Dance Link, the Choreographic Advancement Program and the Best of Dance Chicago (Illinois) and Stars of Dance Chicago (International) Tours. In 1998 John was honored with a Ruth Page Award for “Outstanding Contribution to the Dance Community.” This past fall his Dance Chicago was honored with a Columbia College Arts Entrepreneurship of the Year Award. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in public administration and philosophy and a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and economics from Northern Illinois University.
SANDRA
SCHRAMEL School Artistic Director: DeKalb, co-founder, and principal choreographer of Emergence. Her choreographic repertory, created for numerous dance organizations since 1982 consists of over 100 works, including 21 premieres for Dance Chicago. Ms. Schramel's chamber works include many dances interactive with the visual designs of Norman Magden, whom she has collaborated with since 1986. Her choreography was presented in Paris in 1992 at the Theatre des Amandiers and at the Café de la Danse in 1989. In Chicago she has been presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art (1996 & 1994), the Chicago Fringe Festival (1995 & 1996), Dance Chicago, Around the Coyote Arts Festival, New Tuners Theatre, and others. Her work has extended to the incorporation of theatre and dance, such as her direction of Purgatory by William B. Yeats. She has served on the dance faculties of Northern Illinois University, Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance, Rockford Dance Company, and the Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park. She is the Director/Founder of the Emergence School of Dance and a teacher of Arve technique at Chicago's Joel Hall Dance Center. Her choreography was featured in Scenes from the Bardo for the National Conference of Jungian Analysts on October 23, 1997. Ms. Schramel is a former member of the Arve Connection Dance Company, a major force in contemporary Chicago dance in the early 80's.
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