Deeply Rooted Dance Theater program among fall season's highlights

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater was already one of Chicago’s most respected companies when it took a big step forward in 2020-21, expanding its roster of dancers and apprentices and more than doubling the length of their contracts.

“We have amazing companies in Chicago,” said Nicole Clarke-Springer, Deeply Rooted’s artistic director since 2019. “The dance eco-system here rivals New York, and I think Deeply Rooted adds to that. I’ve been told that Deeply Rooted says what others are afraid to say or may not always be comfortable with.”

Audiences will have a chance to see this nearly three-decades-old company in action Nov. 16 in one of its highest-visibility showcases of the 2024-25 season — a performance at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells (auditoriumtheatre.org).

The program contains works by two company co-founders — Kevin Iega Jeff’s “Flack” (1984) and Gary Abbott’s “Desire” (1994) — and is tentatively scheduled to include a company premiere by Ulysses Dove (1947-96) and a new creation by Emmy Award-nominated choreographer Jeffrey Page. “He’s a really brilliant choreographer who sees things in a different way,” Clarke-Springer said of Page. “I’m excited about working with him.”

Deeply Rooted, which draws on African American and other modern-dance traditions, is poised to heighten its profile even more with what it calls the city’s first-ever multipurpose facility for Black dance. The proposed 33,000-square-foot building at 5339 S. State will include five dance studios, a black-box theater that doubles as a rehearsal space, a costume and set-design shop, meeting rooms and green spaces.

While Clarke-Springer is excited for the company to have its first dedicated home, she also wants the new building to serve as a community resource, not just for dancers but also artists in theater and other art forms. “I would like this space to be a home where everyone can see themselves and express themselves,” she said.

Deeply Rooted still needs to raise another $5 million toward its goal of about $20 million for the project.

“Things are moving along,” said Clarke-Springer. “We’re getting closer, and we’re hoping to secure the funds we need by December, and then we can start breaking ground.”

Here are six other Chicago-area dance highlights this fall:

“Lamentations,” Ballet 5:8 and Chicago A Cappella — Sept. 27-Oct. 6 (four performances at different Chicago-area locations; chicagoacappella.org). Past and present converge in this program of music and dance, as five dancers from Ballet 5:8 join forces with 10 singers from Chicago A Cappella. As part of a larger choral program, the Chicago-based dance company will present Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager’s contemporary choreographic take on the “Lamentations of Jeremiah,” a pair of motets by Thomas Tallis, a celebrated English composer from the 16th-century High Renaissance.

Joffrey Ballet— Cathy Marston’s “Atonement,” Oct. 17-27 (Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Upper Wacker; joffrey.org). This powerful story of guilt and redemption began as a 2001 novel by British author Ian McEwan and was transformed into a 2007 film that was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Marston has created a dance adaptation that is a co-production of the Joffrey and Ballett Zürich in Switzerland, where she has been director since August 2023. This North-American premiere launches Joffrey’s 2024-25 season.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “Carnival of the Animals,” Joseph and Wendy Whelan, Oct. 19 (Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph; harristheaterchicago.org). Whelan became one of the most famous dancers in the United States as a member of the New York City Ballet from 1986 through 2014. In addition to being named associate artistic director of the company in 2019, she has taken part in a range of multidisciplinary works since her retirement from the company. She appears opposite Joseph in this latest such work, which was created by the spoken word artist in response to the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — a kind of exploration of today’s highly charged political jungle.

Step Afrika!, Oct. 19 (Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells; auditoriumtheatre.org). This Washington, D.C.-based company, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, bills itself as the world’s leading authority on African-American stepping, a kind of percussive dance. Its performances incorporate songs and storytelling and combine traditional African dances, styles popularized by historically African-American fraternities and sororities and contemporary dance threads.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Nov. 15-24 (Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted; hubbardstreetdance.com). Hubbard Street, one of Chicago’s oldest and best-known dance companies, will begin its 47th season with its first-ever performances at Steppenwolf. In addition to works by Kyle Abraham, Lar Lubovitch and resident artist Aszure Barton, the program will feature the Chicago premiere of “Sweet Gwen Suite.” The 2021 work brings together three trios created for television in the 1960s by famed Broadway and film choreographer Bob Fosse for his longtime muse, Gwen Verdon, who is credited as a co-choreographer.

“The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark,” Ex Machina and Côté Danse, Nov. 23-24 (Harris Theater; harristheaterchicago.org). Famed director Robert Lepage and dancer-choreographer Guillaume Côté teamed to create this 100-minute, dance-theater version of Shakespeare’s celebrated tragedy. In 2021, Côté, a two-decade principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, founded his eponymous company, which specializes in multidisciplinary projects like this one. This American premiere will feature nine dancers, including Côté in the central role.