Peter Chu & Hubbard Street Are Invading Chicago's Harris Theater

Peter Chu, the amazing dancer/choreographer first noticed in Crystal Pite’s company Kidd Pivot, is teaming up with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for an adventure in immersive installations. Back at the 2010 Dance Teacher Summit, when his piece This Thought exploded across the stage, he rightfully won the Capezio A.C.E. Award Competition for choreography. I was so dazzled by his dancers hurling themselves in jagged stop-start patterns that I wrote about him for our “Taking Off” cover feature on new choreographers in 2011.

Since then he has made some startling pieces for his own company, the Las Vegas–based chuthis. as well as for other groups like Orlando Ballet, METDance and Nederlands Dans Theater and for “So You Think You Can Dance.” Now Chu is exploring new spaces in a project co-conceived with HSDC artistic director Glenn Edgerton. For Space, In Perspective, the 16 dancers of the company, plus 16 from HSDC’s new professional program, will infiltrate the entire theater including lobbies, backstage and the loading dock, inhabiting what Chu calls “a reimagined performance area.” In the final scene, both audience and performers engage in an interactive episode on the stage of the Harris Theater.

Kellie Epperheimer, Elliot Hammans, Adrienne Lipson and Andrew Murdock of HSDC, All photos by Todd Rosenberg

This production, which commemorates HSDC’s 40th anniversary, has a musical score by Djeff Houle and projections by Sven Ortel. And of course, the Hubbard Street dancers are terrific. One of the newest additions to the roster is Rena Butler, who was a 2013 “On the Rise.”

The series of seven performances goes from Sept. 21 to 24. Click here for tickets.