Hubbard Street Dance Chicago was founded in 1977 by Broadway dancer Lou Conte, who booked and choreographed a few jazzy numbers for a quartet of ladies in Chicago-area senior centers. More than three decades later, Hubbard Street is one of the leading dance companies in the United States, with a repertory thats less jazzy and more dark and European. HSDCs nearly 20 dancers display flawless technique with an ease that makes it seem they are gliding across the floor. They are always graceful, no matter that theyre wind-milling their arms or bending their knees in a deep squat. With simple costumes and bare stages, the emphasis with Hubbard is all on the dancing.
This Saturdays performance at the Arsht Centers Ziff Ballet Opera House features work by internationally renowned choreographers, including Miami-favorite Ohad Naharin of the Israelis Batsheva Ensemble, as well as company member Alejandro Cerrudo, whose intricate stop-and-start works are a perfect showcase for his fellow dancers virtuosity.
Sat., Dec. 11, 8 p.m., 2010