Tuesday, March 7th through Sunday, March 12th Moment of Circus Catalyst and Celebration will be taking place and Aloft, Beat Kitchen, Jahn School of Fine Arts and around the city. Moment is six days of contemporary circus: intensives, performances, workshops, panel discussions, and more. The festival, featuring national and international circus artists, serves as not only professional development for circus artists, but will also bring a wider awareness and appreciation of contemporary circus to the general public. As a festival, Moment breaks down the 4th wall and invites participation and collaboration on many levels. It is a festival that values the process as much as the product and the people as much as the art form.
Classes for adults and, for the first time in Aloft's history, children, begin Tuesday, Sept 6.
Here at ChiIL Mama & ChiIL Live Shows, we've adored Aloft Circus, El Circo Cheapo, and fearless leader, Shayna Swanson's various circus arts endeavors for years. I can't even express how excited and overjoyed we are to have Aloft Circus Arts as a near neighbor! My daughter is literally hanging by her heels in anticipation for the long awaited kids classes to begin. Check these guys out. Oh SO highly recommended! Classes begin for all ages September 6 at 3324 W. Wrightwood, Chicago, IL in trapeze, aerial silks, pole, trampoline, hand-balancing, clowning, acrobatics, and more, including circus-based fitness classes. Aloft will offer 90-minute taster classes ($10) from August 29-Sept 4, giving people an opportunity to try out different classes before they enroll in an eight-week session. Taster classes are for students 18 years and older. Children will be permitted to take a free test class during our regularly scheduled class. For more info, check out www.aloftloft.com.
For the last eight years, Aloft Circus Arts has been training amateur and professional circus artists in aerial and earth-bound acrobatics from a rented loft in a west-side industrial warehouse. And in those eight years Aloft has grown into one of the largest and most renowned circus schools in the United States, drawing 250 students per week. Now, with the purchase of a 109-year-old church in Logan Square, Aloft is poised to put down roots that will allow it to launch a new phase of growth.
"When our landlords told us they wouldn't be renewing our lease, I was really scared for the future of circus arts in Chicago," says Aloft's founder Shayna Swanson, an internationally acclaimed performer with more than 20 years of circus experience. Swanson founded Aloft in 2005 in a small Humboldt Park garage. Since moving from the garage to a Fulton Street loft, the studio has expanded to include circus arts classes for adults at all levels of fitness and skill, as well as a rigorous and selective professional training program and a performing company.
Aloft teachers are veterans of Cirque du Soleil and myriad other world-class troupes. Aloft's monthly El Circo Cheapo showcase performances routinely sell out, and in 2014 Aloft helped host the first-ever Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival. But last summer all they'd accomplished seemed in jeopardy -- until Swanson found the former First Evangelical Church at the corner of Kimball and Wrightwood.
"As soon as I walked in, I knew we had to move there," she says. "I'm really proud of the fact that a small arts organization was able to purchase this beautiful building and keep it active in the community." Now, after a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised $60,000 to go towards a state-of-the-art rigging system, the church is set to become Chicago's permanent home for contemporary circus.
Interest in contemporary circus is booming in the U.S., and across the globe. Aloft's classes are small and taught progressive manner, allowing students with no previous experience in circus or acrobatics to master challenging physical skills and experience the excitement of this joyful art form, which has been proven to boost self-esteem and fitness in both children and adults.
About Aloft Circus Arts
Aloft is a Chicago-based physical performance company dedicated to telling original stories through world-class circus arts. Aloft combines visual art, urban space, physical movement, modern dance, and aerial performance to build a cohesive emotional tale. In productions meant for theaters, the street, or the open sky, Aloft Circus Arts is changing the limits of what's physically possible in storytelling.
Animal-free and accessible for all audiences, Aloft Circus Arts is at the forefront of what modern circus is growing into, pushing the limits and leaving old ideas of "circus" in the dust.
ChiIL Live Shows will be there... will you? We're presently working out the details, but we hope to review and run a book giveaway for our readers as well! Of course, if you follow us much, you know we cover the local and international circus community thoroughly here at ChiIL Live Shows and our family friendly site, ChiIL Mama. We've done multiple features on CircEsteem, Aloft, 500 Clown and major touring acts like Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloise, Cirque Shanghai, Ringling Brothers, and many more as well. In fact, my own kids who will soon be 10 & 12, have been studying circus arts for close to 3 years now and perform with CircEsteem. Both kids have studied aerial arts including silks & trapeze. And my daughter's also studied lyra, Chinese Pole, and Spanish Web. They're also learning clowning, acro, unicycle, trampoline & other skills! We plan to shoot stills on Monday and will have a photo filled recap up shortly. As always, nothing compares to being there. So what are you waiting for. Get your tickets today.
Think you know the circus? Think again.
Whether it's your first time in a long time, you're a fan, or a successful circus professional, come out to celebrate the diversity & artistry of today's circus.
Join us on March 11 at City Winery for Circus Now: anevening celebrating contemporary American circus and the recently released book TheOrdinary Acrobat, hosted by Duncan Wall with presentations and performances from the Chicago circus community.
Join CircEsteem's Executive Director Maribeth Joy as she presents on how CircEsteem uses circus as a tool for social change. Also performing will be CircEsteem juggling instructor, Brian Dailey and CircEsteem graduate Will McGowan.
A Three Ring Circle: Chronicles, Capoeira, and the Council Ring - Stories and Dances around the Fire
Wednesday, August 22
Hours: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Where: City Garden
Cost: Free!
Gathered around the campfire circles this evening are modern story tellers and ancient circle dancers, Brazilian music, and spectacle arts. Gingarte Capoeira will present on both the history and the technique of the Brazilian martial art and Aloft Circus Arts will be on hand giving scarf juggling workshops. The Conservatory’s own Garfield Guides will be giving historic tours of the Garfield Park Conservatory, as well as offering information about Jens Jensen, the landscape architect responsible for both the Conservatory and the council ring. Bring a picnic, and join in the food and fun.
This evening features the beautiful voice of the Poetic Storyteller, Oba William King, as well as the Brazilian beats of Chicago’s very own Copacabana. Urban fire masters Pyrotechniq will be tending the fires, as well as dancing amongst its flames in the final part of the evening. Check back for a detailed schedule of this final “Conservatory Campfire” event this summer.
And as a Special Treat, from 4 pm – 8 pm:
PNC Grow Up Great – “Learning is All Around Me!” Mobile Learning Adventure
The Mobile Learning Adventure (MLA) is a traveling exhibit that provides an opportunity for parents and caregivers to learn about the importance of early childhood education while they engage in fun activities with their children. A part of PNC Grow Up Great - a $350 million, multi-year initiative that began in 2004 to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life - the MLA includes interactive kiosks and the “When I Grow Up” station, where kids dress up as different professionals and have their picture superimposed on an appropriate background. In addition, parents can take home activity books and learning kits that demonstrate how to take everyday moments and turn them into learning opportunities.
Under the Gaslight, Aloft's student show on February 25th, was truly impressive. Check out our original show shots above. It's exciting to see aerial acts within a larger story line or plot, rather than just an exhibition of skills. We were especially excited that they chose to explore the subjective elements of mental illness.
Gaslighting, by definition, is a term for psychological abuse where the victim is led to doubt their own memory and perception. Here's the Wikipedia definition:
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his or her own memory and perception. It may simply be the denial
by an abuser that previous abusive incidents ever occurred, or it could
be the staging of bizarre events by the abuser with the intention of disorienting the victim.
The term "gaslighting" comes from the play Gas Light
and its film adaptations. In those works a character uses a variety of
tricks to convince his spouse that she is crazy, so that she won't be
believed when she reports strange things that are genuinely occuring,
including the dimming of the gas lamps
in the house (which happens when her husband turns on the normally
unused gas lamps in the attic to conduct clandestine activities there).
Since then, it has become a colloquial expression that is now also used in clinical and research literature.
Earlier that night, I was shooting Emilie Autumn's amazing show at The House of Blues. It was an eerily appropriate pairing, as Emilie's concerts are a music/ performance art hybrid that take place in a Victorian era asylum! She even performed a song entitled...you guessed it, Gaslight! Our photo filled recap is coming soon.
Here's Aloft's show premise:
Under the Gaslight
The Aloft Loft Chicago, IL
The Aloft Student Ensemble Performance group presents a full length
contemporary circus show exploring the line between sane and "crazy".
Aloft's signature style of using traditional circus apparatus in new and
surprising ways, and spinning clear narrative through movement and risk
come alive again through this group of 10 up-coming acrobats, studying
at the Aloft Loft, the Midwest's premiere contemporary circus school.
Trained by some of the top instructors in the country, and directed by
Aloft's Artistic Director, Shayna Swanson, the performers have created a
show based in consensus building which questions weather mental illness
is just one tragedy away from everyone.
All proceeds from the
seat reservation fee for this show will go into a new scholarship fund
to assist current Aloft Loft students who lose their incomes due to the
economy in continuing their acrobatic training. Some money will also be
directed into mirco-grants to help professional artists-in-residence at
the Aloft Loft develop new work.
We were back there tonight to shoot El Circo Cheapo and celebrate Du-Jay's 11th birthday with family. They've been doing the show for 3 years and sell out every show! Some of their talented performers also work as teachers at CircEsteem, so the kids were extra stoked to see folks they know perform. We caught El Circo Cheapo back at Brilliant Corners Fest and were thoroughly entertained. They run a fabulous, monthly circus at Aloft's space, on the first Saturday of every month for just $10 floor seats & $15 for a chair. Tickets tend to be in high demand and sell out, so plan ahead. Check out Aloft's main site here for more details.
El Circo Cheapo!
“The only thing cheap is the admission!”-Santa Fe Reporter
Like circus? Like awesome things that are crazy cheap? Then have we
got just the thing for you. El Circo Cheapo Cabaret is an amazing circus
show like nothing you have ever seen. An ever changing cast of some of
the world’s most talented circus performers, as well as other
performance artists, ensures no two shows are ever the same…and seat
reservation fees are low!
Make your seat reservation for El Circo Cheapo Cabaret now by heading here.
*The 7 PM show is family friendly. The 10 PM is 18+. Both are BYOB. We'll have our family friendly photos up from tonight 3/3 in the very near future!
In the opening scene of This is a Damage Manual, the ensemble is in suspended animation, frozen in space and time, as the audience filters in. Take a good look, as this is one of the last moments of calm before a storm of political, passionate, intense dance. We adored this surreal look at damaged souls, making the best of an insane world. Damage Manual had the whole audience laughing and cringing in turn. The music was fantastic and the message right on target. This show is a must see for self help addicts, skeptics, and nonconformists. Is the message hitting a little too close to home? You can even duck out for a hypnotically suggested tranquilizer, in the form of a well stocked lobby bar, over intermission.
I was blown away by the excellent, multimedia presentation, and the way BONEdanse organically melds into the space. They made great use of the varying textures in The Wit walls, projecting giant images on the black cinder block back wall and throwing visually stunning shadow play across the brick and metal end walls. The voice overs of Earl Nightingale, self help guru, were even more disturbingly wonderful with the vintage scratch of a record running throughout. Atalee Judy and the ensemble take us on a vital journey through the eyes of a driven, unbalanced ballerina, an over medicated 50's houswife, a nazi, and more. The audience is propelled on a journey through dream treatment, tranquilizers, and other attempts to numb people into acquiescence in an unbalanced world.
Conceptually, this is an adult piece, or recommended for mature tweens and teens. Although there isn't anything objectionable or over the top, if you're considering bringing underagers.
Here are our post show shots. Be sure to stick around for snacks and a bit of shopping therapy after the show! The multifaceted women of BONEdanse not only choreograph, write, and kick butt on stage, but they design amazing, affordable eco-friendly clothes too!! Instead of a fundraiser, BONEdanse is selling Bone Ware. Damage Manual was drop dead delicious, but it's well worth the ticket price to get to the goodies. T's are only $5-$15. Fleeces are $15. One of a kind Upcycled T-Shirt dresses are $30-$40.
Check out photographer, Chrystyne, modeling one in our shots above. I snagged the awesome black & orange one with excellent text on the back "I will not be a victim...I will not be a perpetrator....above all I will not be a bystander & PEACE...it's what matters.
BONEdanse is one of our favorite Chi-town dance troupes. Check out their creative and ferocious theatre. These women are all about being smart AND mighty, and they create some mighty fine, thought provoking pieces of modern dance. We've been loving their weekly Danse Skitz. Check 'em all out on YouTube where Danse Skitz #1-10 are all archived. They were all shot around Chicago last June through August.
Don't miss the opportunity to see them live. This is a Damage Manual has just 6 performances left!
february 2-12, 2012 th/fri/sat 8pm, sun 3pm theater wit 1229 belmont tickets $15-$24
BONEdanse PRESENTS This is a DAMAGE MANUAL THIS WINTER. WHERE THE SUB-TRASH PROPAGANDA OF THE 80S CLASHES WITH THE FEAR OF EVERYTHING 50S WHERE THERAPY PROMISES TO HELP, BUT MORE OFTEN DESTROYS... WHAT’S YOUR DAMAGE?
BONEdanse’s (simplified from its former Breakbone DanceCo), evening length version of This is a Damage Manual premieres this February; a satirical, witty, and humoured performance that offers as many absurd questions about the idiosyncrasies of human behavior as it answers.
With its title sourced directly from the industrial post-punk music entity The Damage Manual featuring 80s punk era icons Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd [Pil], Killing Joke), Chris Connelly (Murder, Inc), Geordie Walker (Killing Joke) and Jah Wobble (PiL), BONEdanse’s Damage Manual, also draws largely from the world of vintage instruction manuals and self-help vinyl records to explore how universally damaged we all are and how many of us stay that way.
Once again, here's the basics:
WHAT: Damage Manual, a darkly comedic dance theater work examining vintage self-help books and recordings through dynamic physicality.
WHO: BONEdanse. A solo created by guest choreographer Jyl Fehrenkamp Choreography by Atalee Judy with performances by Janna Barta, Anita Fillmore, Atalee Judy & Mindy Meyers. Lighting Design: Jacob Snodgrass Costumes, Video, and Soundscore: A. Judy
WHEN: Thursdays-Sundays, February 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 12; Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3: 00 pm
WHERE: Theater Wit is located at 1229 W Belmont, Chicago, 60657 in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.
HOW: Ticket prices are Th/Fr $15, Sat $24, and Sunday matinee $20. ALL tickets are available at walk-up or call-in box office: 773.975.8150 (no service fee online or by phone) www.theaterwit.org Follow BONEdanse on Facebook and join their email list for exclusive discount ticket offers at www.bonedanse.com
This is a Damage Manual & Punk Rock are both playing at Theater Wit!
Kid alert-Punk Rock Contains Adult themes NOT suitable for kids. Damage Manual is appropriate for all ages, but recommended for an adult night out or possibly savvy tweens & teens--conceptually.
Political, passionate, accessible dance. This is a Damage Manual is a must see! Stick around for the Bone Ware--awesome, affordable up cycled clothes. We'll be seeing and reviewing Punk Rock tomorrow.
Visiting Company Griffin Theatre
Punk Rock
By Simon Stephens
Directed by Jonathan Berry
Now playing through March 04, 2012
The American Premiere of Simon Stephens' powerful and critically acclaimed drama about a group of high school age students preparing for their final exams and nearing the end of their school lives. When the whole world opens up before you, there’s a danger it’ll swallow you up, there’s danger all around in this shattering new play that explores the volatility of adolescent life.
*Strong Adult Content
There is no late seating available for this production.
****NOTE: If you loved This is a Damage Manual.....In a similar vein, check out Under The Gaslight, coming soon at Aloft.
The Aloft Student Ensemble Performance group presents a full length contemporary circus show exploring the line between sane and "crazy". Aloft's signature style of using traditional circus apparatus in new and surprising ways, and spinning clear narrative through movement and risk come alive again through this group of 10 up-coming acrobats, studying at the Aloft Loft, the Midwest's premiere contemporary circus school. Trained by some of the top instructors in the country, and directed by Aloft's Artistic Director, Shayna Swanson, the performers have created a show based in consensus building which questions weather mental illness is just one tragedy away from everyone.
All proceeds from this show will go into a new scholarship fund to assist current Aloft Loft students who lose their incomes due to the economy in continuing their acrobatic training. Some money will also be directed into mirco-grants to help professional artists-in-residence at the Aloft Loft develop new work.
