Brett Batterson Receives State Farm Embrace Life Award for HTHTA

Our Executive Director received the State Farm Embrace Life award on Tuesday! The award included a $10,000 donation to our Hands Together, Heart to Art summer camp.


Join State Farm in supporting our campers, who have all experienced the death of a parent. Help us provide them a safe and supportive opportunity to be with other children who have experienced a similar loss - click here or call 312.922.2110 ext 368 to make a donation to HTHTA.

Our Executive Director One of Chicago theatre's 50 Most Influential

NewCity just came out with a list of the 50 most influential people in the Chicago theatre scene, and our own Executive Director was included!

Congrats to our raffle winners!

During the AAADT performances last weekend, we held a raffle to benefit our education programs. Congratulations to the following winners, and thank you to everyone who gave to support our summer camps, in-school outreach programs and other educational initiatives.

* United Tickets to Europe: Sabrina Beoingham
* 2 Subscriptions to the International Dance Series: Diana Cho
* 4 tickets to Margaret Garner: Gregory Armstrong
* Table for 6 to Orbert Davis: Doug Cranmer
* $100 gift certificate to Rhapsody: Sandra DeSico
* $100 gift certificate for Custom House: Frontina Spitz

Ailey Video and News

We're getting ready for next week's engagement by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater! We'll be posting a lot about AAADT for the next few weeks.



Here's a section of The Road of the Phoebe Snow, which will be performed Thursday and Friday of next week.

You can also see last week's "Dancing With the Stars" appearance here.

Also, Hallmark has a new line of greeting cards featuring Ailey photography.

Box office hours this weekend

If you want to head down to the box office this weekend to purchase your Ailey tickets (or Celtic Woman or Joffrey Ballet, etc.), it will be open both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday the box office will be open from 2pm-7pm and on Sunday from 11am-2pm. (The box office will be open until showtime each day for Celtic Woman ticket transactions.)

Ailey Making Guest Appearance on Dancing With the Stars Tonight!

Tune in to Dancing With the Stars tonight (April 1) to see the Ailey dancers perform an excerpt from Revelations accompanied by a gospel choir.

Over the next 18 months, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, Ailey's legacy will come to life through special events and commercial partnerships: the artist David Michalek has created video installation screens depicting slowed-down versions of larger-than-life Ailey dancers along the ground-floor windows of the Ailey studios on Ninth Avenue; Hallmark has produced a series of six Ailey greeting cards; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., opens an Ailey archive exhibit this May; Ailey will host a series of free performances and dance classes in all five boroughs of NYC in August; an Ailey Barbie doll is due out this fall, and in June, the Ailey company returns to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the first time in 38 years.

Photo: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

TakeChicagoDance launched yesterday

If you 've watched great dance performances at the Auditorium and thought it would be fun to take a dance class, you'll love the new site TakeChicagoDance.com. Launched yesterday, Take Chicago Dance is a sister site to SeeChicagoDance.com, the website offering comprehensive news about Chicago's dance scene and deals for dance performances. Both sites are a great resource for the dance lover, so check it out!

Ailey FAMTIX promotion sold out

As of this morning, we have sold out of Ailey FAMTIX!

This is always one of our most popular promotions. Thanks to the generosity of LaSalle Bank, we've been able to offer a free child ticket with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket for the Saturday matinee of Alivn Ailey American Dance Theater for the past few years. This year, we were able to give tickets to almost 300 children.

The Saturday matinee performance is the most popular so far, but great tickets are still available for all six shows. Check out our website for program information.

Photo: AAADT's Renee Robinson in Revelations. Photo by Paul Kolnik.

American Ballet Theatre's Xiomara Reyes Steps in for Saturday's Don Quixote Performance

Two Top Ballerinas Showcased at the Auditorium This Weekend!

Ballerina Xiomara Reyes, well know to Chicago ballet fans from her apperarances with American Ballet Theatre, is stepping in for the injured Anna Muradeli for Saturday's performance by the State Ballet of Georgia. Reyes will be dancing the lead role of Kitri, which will be danced by fellow ABT principal and State Ballet of Georgia Artistic Director Nina Ananiashvili during the rest of the run.

Read more about Reyes here.

Ailey News: Program Info and FAMTIX

The program info for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (April 16-20) is now available on our website. It's an exciting lineup - check it out! Plus Ailey's set up AileyConnect, where you can call to hear messages about Ailey and its repertory.

Did you know that you can bring a child under the age of 18 to see the Saturday, April 19 matinee performance free? We are offering a free child's ticket with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket - but hurry, we only have a limited number of free tickets available! Just call 312.902.1500, click here or visit our box office and use promotional code FAMTIX. (When ordering online, enter the number of adult tickets in the FULL PRICE TICKET box; enter the number of children's tickets in the "Free Child with Adult Ticket" box. The number of children's tickets must be equal to our less than the number of adult tickets.) This promotion is not available on top price tickets and may not be combined with any other discount or offer. Not valid on previously purchased tickets. Subject to availability; restrictions apply.

Orbert Davis Nominated for Chicago Music Award

Our friend Orbert Davis, whose Chicago Jazz Philharmonic has performed at the Auditorium twice to great critical acclaim, has been nominated for "Best Jazz Entertainer" for the 27th Annual Chicago Music Awards.

You can vote for him here (his category is #18); but hurry, today is the last day for voting! The awards will be handed out on January 26th at Park West.

Best of luck to Orbert!

Box office open Sunday noon until 2pm

The box office will be open this Sunday, January 13, from noon until 2pm. If you're downtown, this will be a great time to pick up tickets to upcoming Auditorium events!

Holiday Box Office Hours

Here's our box office hours for the next few days:

• Saturday, December 22 and Sunday, December 23: open for advance sales 10am-6pm; 6pm-7pm, that evening's Nutcracker sales only (if there is no line, they can accomodate advance sales; but that evening's show will take priority)
• Monday, December 24: 10am-2pm
• CLOSED Tuesday, December 25
• Wednesday, December 26 - Friday, December 28 - regular hours (noon until 6pm)
• Saturday, December 29: advance sales 10am-6pm; 6pm-7pm Nutcracker purchases
• Sunday, December 30: 10am-2pm for final Nutcracker show
• CLOSED Monday, December 31 and Tuesday, January 1

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Thanksgiving Weekend Box Office Hours

As you can probably guess, the Auditorium box office will be closed on Thanksgiving. We will be open on Friday, November 23 from noon until 6pm for your ticketing needs. The box office will not be open on Saturday or Sunday this weekend.