Dance Nation

[rating=4] Do not let the name of this play fool you. “Dance nation” written by Claire Barron is not a musical show, but is in fact about dancers. Thirteen year old  female dancers to be exact. Working hard to win a title for their dance teacher ( played by Tim Hopper ) on the floor of the Upstairs Theatre at Steppenwolf. This is their “black Box” venue that can change with each production ( and does )! In this production, the audience sits on two sides with the action being in the middle, on the floor rather than a stage, allowing us to look down at them.

The story is about these girls and their dreams and desires as well as the changes that they are going through, physically. Directed and choreographed by Lee Sunday Evans, this  Pulitzer Prize “finalist” will seem different to each audience member, of either gender. What Evans has done to appease our “new world” is cast these teenage girls with ladies , and one gentleman, of all ages. It is a play about “coming of age”, learning about one’s inner self and of greater importance, how to deal with problems as they arise. We all have had some of the experiences that these young girls are living. They have been different for each of us, but when one looks back at some of the events in their lives and thinks them out, one can see, that in many ways, we are seeing “our story”, only a more modern version.

The cast features Audrey Francis ( as the moms and an injured dancer) and Tim Hopper ( a Chicago treasure as the dance teacher, Pat). While they are the only adults in the play, several of the actors ( in fact, most, are in fact adults, ) are playing down to the teen ideas and ideals. They are Caroline Neff as Zuzu, the young girl who is destined for stardom and probably everyone’s favorite. She has the talent and the will. Karen Rodriguez is a powerful Amina, a class member that truly wants to be there and doesn’t expect more than what she gets, ensemble.

The others are Sofia ( adorably played by Ariana Burks, who truly carries the teenager well), Connie ( deftly handled by Adithi Chandrashekar), Maeve ( Ellen Maddow, while certainly not a teen, pulls off the character’s attitude with great skill), Luke ( played to perfection by Torrey Harrison- not easy to be a boy in an all girl dance squad) and the powerful Ashlee ( played with great energy by Shanesia Davis).

The point of the story is that these dancers are competing to qualify  to get to the next round in this dance competition. If they do, they move onward and upward, and if they make it to the finals, in Tampa Florida ( their gpal), there could be Broadway scouts in the audience, giving one of these dancers the opportunity to make it to the Broadway stage ( as was done many years prior by another student of Pat).

The dance designed is in honor of Ghandi and while the girls strive for the lead, Pat selects two to be the stars, One as Ghandi and the other,  his spirit. I will not tell you any more in order not to give anything away, but will tell you that the girls learn from this experience.  What happens if the main dancer cannot complete their steps? Do the others just sit in silence? Or do they make their own steps up and keep the story alive to the music. The audience and judges do not know what to expect so they can only judge by what they see. How can this affect the dance team.

That is all I will say! The strength of this play is not the writing but the direction and the character building that these performers bring to the stge. There is very little in scenic design in th eshow, but the cleverness of Arnulfo Maldonado makes it appear that there is. Heather Gilbert;s lighting and Mikhail Fiskel’s sound are up to the norms at Steppenwolf as are the costumes (Christine Pascual). The intimacy choreography ( this is something new to the world of theater) is done by Tonia Sina .

“Dance Nation” will continue at Steppenwolf Theatre , 1650 N. Halsted Street through February 2nd with performances as follows:

Stage: Upstairs Theatre

Show Type: Comedy/Drama

Box Office: 312-335-1650

www.steppenwolf.org

Tickets range from $20- $94

There are twenty tickets each performance for $20 each (limit two per person)

There are also student tickets at $15 ONLINE at www.steppenwolf.org/students

Parking is available on the street ( metered) and at the parking facility at 1624 N.Halsted  $13-$15

Valet parking is cash only $15

ACCESSIBLE

American Sign  , Sunday  January 5th 7:30 p.m.

Open Captioning  Thursday, January 2nd  7:40 p.m.

Saturdays  January 18th  at 3 p.m.

Audio Description tour  Sunday, January 12th at 1:30 p.m. for the 3 p.m. performance

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at ” Dance Nation”.

NOTE: please also refer to DANCE classification on the site for our Dance reviewer, CJ Hyland’s view.