A Note from Brett Batterson, Executive Director [MUSIC+MOVEMENT SHOWCASE]

MUSIC: An art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions.

MOVEMENT: A series of motions that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music.

MUSIC + MOVEMENT FESTIVAL: A one-of-a-kind festival featuring 11 world premieres commissioned by the Auditorium, partnering live music with ground-breaking dance.

We opened this festival defining it in terms as simple as these; a few phrases to describe the journey we began this past February with the launch of the Auditorium Theatre’s MUSIC + MOVEMENT FESTIVAL, and look how far we’ve come.

Over the past few months, an incredible amount of talent has passed through our doors, and the collaborations that have formed through this festival have shown the vast amount of originality and diversity amongst Chicago artists. We are so thrilled to offer Auditorium audiences a second chance to see a selected group of these exciting performances in this evening’s showcase on our landmark stage along with the always wonderful Giordano Dance Chicago.

Tonight, you will witness six of the original MUSIC + MOVEMENT FESTIVAL premiere pieces from some of Chicago’s top dance companies and musicians. Originally performed as workshops in the Auditorium’s Katten/Landau Studio spanning February through April, all performances were reviewed by a panel of distinguished, anonymous dance professionals who selected six pieces for tonight’s program: Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre with musicians James Sanders, Stu Greenspan and Joe Cerqua; Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s BAM! with the Greg Spero Trio and Tressa Thomas; DanceWorks Chicago with Paul Wertico; Kuumba Lynx with Urban Aspirations; Mexican Dance Ensemble with Los Condenados Huastecos; and Thodos Dance Chicago with Amanda Batterson.

I want to again extend special thanks to our sponsors for this festival. Demonstrating their continued commitment to artistic quality and increased diversity, The Chicago Community Trust, The Boeing Company and The Joyce Foundation have made generous contributions to support the Auditorium Theatre’s self-produced MUSIC + MOVEMENT FESTIVAL. All three of these wonderful community partners, support programs like our MUSIC + MOVEMENT FESTIVAL which increase the diversity of Chicago audiences, create works by artists of color and enhance the cultural fabric of the city. We could not have done this without them.

Although one major festival performance is over, I hope you were here for the River North Dance Chicago/Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic collaboration Havana Blue. Completing the festival, four companies, Kalapriya Dance Company, Full Effect Entertainment Theatrical Dance Company, Joel Hall Dancers and Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center’s Bryant Ballet, will revive their pieces throughout the city through June, offering a wider audience the ability to see the innovative, ground-breaking collaborations that have brought some of the most talented dance and music combinations together. Look for a stuffer in tonight's program to learn more about the locations and details of these performances.

Thank you again for joining us this evening. I hope the collaborations you see brought to life on our historic stage tonight inspire you to visit us again for our upcoming 2013–14 Season of world-class dance and music.

Brett Batterson

Executive Director