BY JENN GODDU
Ten years ago Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) was already describing itself as "a world class company." One board member pointed out that this was something of a misnomer until the company had performed in the world’s cultural capitals such as Paris, New York and London. But today, as the company enters its 25th year, it has lived up to its optimistic self-billing.
HSDC’s 21 dancers now perform an average of 90 shows annually for a worldwide audience. The company has appeared in 42 states and 16 countries and has worked with American choreographers such as Danny Ezralow, Trey McIntyre, David Parsons, Margo Sappington, Shapiro and Smith, and Twyla Tharp. International choreographers Marguerite Donlon, Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian and Ohad Naharin have also developed works with the company’s ensemble of diverse dancers.
HSDC has also grown into an organization with an annual operating budget of $5.5 million. "It’s actually an institution now," says executive director Gail Kalver. "When it started out it was a dance company, period.
"We want to sustain the company as a world class dance company that continually has new things to offer the world stage and that means Chicago as well, and Chicago first and foremost," she said.
The company was first founded in Chicago in 1977 by dancer/choreographer Lou Conte. An ensemble of four women gave the first public performance in a senior citizens’ home in 1978. This spring, the company will launch its 25th anniversary season with an engagement at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre. The program’s 14 works will feature three premieres.
Presenting more new works was part of Jim Vincent’s vision for the company when he took on the job of artistic director in August 2000 after Conte retired.
"One of the things I wanted to do was increase performances and what we were putting into those performances," he said. And, so, the company has increased its number of performances by 50 percent and the number of new works it performs has jumped from two a year to five or six. "I’m not just looking to buy existing works and remount them," Vincent said.
These enhancements are only a few of the ideas that even Vincent might have termed "pipe dreams" when he first moved to Chicago from Paris that have proved possible. He also wanted to find a way to showcase works in development and wanted the company to eventually perform to live music. In December 2002, the company presented some works-in-progress at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Next winter the company will collaborate with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and dance to live music in a January 2004 performance.
"We’re just reaching out and maintaining the tradition that started with Lou’s concept of a repertory company," Vincent said. The focus is not on one particular dancer or style but on making an impact on dance and its audience.
Vincent first saw HSDC perform in 1989 in a European festival. He says he fell in love with the company "not just for what they brought to the stage, but also for the feeling of the ensemble."
The diversity of the repertory challenges the dancers and keeps them nourished, Vincent said. The essence of HSDC is the ensemble’s "collective ego," he says. "This is a group of very strong individuals who know how to work together as a group."
Kalver says HSDC attracts its artists with quality dancing, excellent performance standards and a broad repertoire catering to all tastes. There is also a feeling of family.
"It’s a very close group…once [a dancer, choreographer or artist] has been part of it, they’re part of the extended family," says Kalver, who joined the organization in 1984 after working at Ravinia. "It’s like a family tree that has grown enormously. It’s just got more branches and more leaves." Conte, who invested much of his life into building up HSDC, is still a vital part of the family as the head of The Lou Conte Dance Studio, the company’s resident dance school which offers nearly 60 classes per week. He’s involved with HSDC’s educational outreach and its second professional company, which presents works by up-and-coming choreographers in schools, community centers and theatres. Hubbard Street 2 was founded with a company of dancers between the ages of 17 and 25 in 1997.
"The second company has become a place for emerging dance talent, overall dance talent, not just choreographers," Kalver said. "It’s really kind of a playground for emerging talent."
Today Hubbard Street 2 is growing very quickly, she said. It has its own artistic director, Julie Nakagawa Bottcher, and managing director, Andreas Bottcher, and six core members. "They are absolutely in a growth pattern."
Another of HSDC’s efforts to encourage new choreographers is its new annual choreographic workshop, introduced by Vincent and held in the summer at Columbia College. There are many gifted choreographers out there who need support and good dancers to work with, Vincent said. Developing relationships now with these new talents helps the company to find more exclusive original works to add to its repertory. The company may be "world class" today in terms of quality, but Vincent says his biggest focus right now is on bringing the company’s repertory up to a world class level so that HSDC can continue to perform at the hot spots on the international circuit.
What else is in store for HSDC?
"Hopefully another 25 years," says Vincent. He aims to continue to grow while helping the art form to evolve. Working from the company’s relatively new home in the West Loop (they moved into an expanded facility housing five dance studios in 1998), he’d also like to develop more collaborations with other Chicago institutions. He dreams of HSDC performing to live jazz music at Ravinia or performing a site-specific piece at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. "It’s crazy that we isolate ourselves so often because we want to maintain a certain level of purity…There are endless possibilities but these things take time. That’s why I’m hoping that we can maintain this wonderful institution for another 25 years."