By Laura Zornosa
This season, three Chicago companies are answering questions that words alone can’t about queer love, American artistic legacy, and the Black diaspora’s creative power, with the kind of physicality and precision that reminds you why dance exists. Here’s a look at three can’t-miss performances.
Joffrey Ballet: American Icons
In 1956, Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino co-founded the Joffrey Ballet as a six-dancer ensemble, touring the country in a station wagon pulling a U-Haul trailer. Now, that same company will perform “Postcards (Pas de Deux Excerpt),” choreographed by Joffrey, and “Kettentanz,” by Arpino, inspired by early 1900s Paris and classical Viennese balls, respectively.
These pieces are part of American Icons, highlighting the work of four pioneering artists of the 1900s: Joffrey, Arpino, Joffrey alum Glen Tetley, and modern dance trailblazer Martha Graham. Tetley’s “Voluntaries” is a 1973 tribute to the South African dancer and choreographer John Cranko, and Graham’s “Secular Games” explores the competitive spirit.
- Lyric Opera House, 20 North Wacker, Chicago
- February 19 through March 1, 2026
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Hubbard Street Dance Chicago: Winter Series
In 2009, a friend of the choreographer Juel D. Lane gave him a prompt: Make a piece about sexuality. Lane calls the result “Touch & Agree,” a blueprint for navigation of love, especially in queer spaces. “Touch & Agree” will have its company premiere in Hubbard Street Dance’s Winter Series, alongside “As the Wind Blows” by Amy Hall Garner and “Gnawa” by Nacho Duato. The former—celebrating the joy of movement—returns after its world premiere with Hubbard Street Dance four years ago. The latter, a vibrant ensemble work, channels the Mediterranean spirit of North Africa and Duato’s Spain.
- Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Street, Chicago
- February 26 through March 1
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Red Clay Dance Company: La Femme Dance Festival
Every two years, the Red Clay Dance Company brings works by women of the Black/African diaspora to Chicago with the La Femme Dance Festival. This time around features the world premiere of “A SEAT (working title)” by Rena Butler, bringing a sharp, grounded physicality to the stage. Red Clay will also perform “Unconditional Conditions” and “Love Letters to CHI-IL,” both by founding artistic director Vershawn Sanders-Ward. Two guest performances round out the program: one by tap dance band Syncopated Ladies, led by Chloé Arnold, and another—an excerpt of “Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley” by Kia Smith—by South Chicago Dance Theatre.
- Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 East Randolph Street, Chicago
- March 28, 2026
