Deeply Rooted Dance Theater in Nicole Clarke-Springer’s Sacred Spaces. Photo by J. Hitchens Design.
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater opens its 29th season with a highly anticipated evening of contemporary dance, based in American and African-American traditions in dance and storytelling. The one-night-only performance takes place Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. at The Auditorium, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago. Tickets are on sale at auditoriumtheatre.org/events-details/deeply-rooted-2024/.
The program features a range of repertory, including premieres and classics: Sacred Spaces, a world premiere by Deeply Rooted Artistic Director Nicole Clarke-Springer, is “a simply stunning work set to gospel music by Mahalia Jackson, Bobby McFerrin, and GMWA of Worship and dedicated to Clarke-Springer’s daughters and mother” (Chicago Tribune, responding to an excerpt Deeply Rooted performed with Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project earlier in 2024). Lifted (excerpt) is a work-in-progress created by Emmy-nominated director and choreographer Jeffrey Page, working with Deeply Rooted for the first time. Urban Folk Dance by Ulysses Dove, a company premiere, depicts two couples living side-by-side who search for connection as they engage in ferocious power struggles. Characterized by a seamless blend of expressive theatricality and heart-stopping athleticism, Dove’s choreography, set to music by Michael Torke, brilliantly captures the raw complexity of modern relationships. Deeply Rooted performed the company premiere of Dove’s Vespers in 2022. Flack (1984), choreographed by Co-Founder Kevin Iega Jeff to music by Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and Quincy Jones, is a portrait of strife, despair, and ultimate triumph. Desire (1994), choreographed by Co-Founder Gary Abbott to music by Hans Zimmer, Geoff McCormack, and Simon Goldberg, explores three types of attraction: love at first sight, love of physical beauty, and young love. When the company dances together, it depicts the primal urge of attraction felt by all.
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater opens its 2024–25 season
Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m.
at The Auditorium, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, Chicago.
Tickets start at $35, available at
auditoriumtheatre.org/events-details/deeply-rooted-2024/.
All programming is subject to change.
For updates, please visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.
Premiering in 1996, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater reimagines and diversifies the aesthetics of contemporary dance by uniting modern, classical, American, and African-American traditions in dance and storytelling. Through its uncompromising pursuit of excellence, Deeply Rooted demonstrates the transformative power of art and beauty through performance, dance education, and cultural enrichment in Chicago and on the world stage. Deeply Rooted is rooted in traditions of American and African-American dance, storytelling, and universal themes that spark a visceral experience and ignite an emotional response in diverse audiences worldwide. Deeply Rooted collaborates with nationally renowned choreographers, across the spectrum of modern, ballet, and African dance, to reflect contemporary voices. For information, visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.
Deeply Rooted’s programs are partially sponsored or supported by Allstate, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Arts Work Fund Thrive Grant of the Chicago Community Trust, Builder’s Initiative Foundation, Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project funded by Doris Duke Charitable Fund and The Mellon Foundation and The Walder Foundation, Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks Program, Chicago’s Cultural Treasures, CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Crown Family Philanthropies, Pamela Crutchfield, The Field Foundation of Illinois, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Ginger Farley Charitable Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, The International Association of Blacks in Dance, Irving Harris Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Polk Bros. Foundation, The Reva and David Logan Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, U.S. Bank, Walder Foundation, Wayfarer Foundation, The Weasel Fund, and Deeply Rooted Family of Friends.
Special thanks to the following for their partnership and support: Auditorium Theatre, Ballet Chicago, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago Park District, Maywood Fine Arts, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, St. Benedict the African Church, and University of Chicago Community Accelerator Program.
