Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Tickets

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago or HSDC is Chicago based dance company. Started in 1977 by the legendary choreographer Lou Conte, the Company has grown in leaps and bounds. From its original performance in a nursing home with four dancers to the present day, it has grown into an over $4 million enterprise with scores of dancers. HSDC has been nurtured into a national and international fame company under the guidance of its three artistic directors.

Lou Conte was HSDC’s first artistic director from 1977 to 2000. It was by sheer coincidence that Lou Conte entered the world of dance and choreography. Originally studying to become a zoologist, Lou decided to give dance lessons to his Southern Illinois University students. He had had such a great experience that he never looked back after that and started to dance for Broadway musicals, and summer stock shows. This made him eventually form HSDC. For the 23 years that the Company had been under Lou Conte, it has grown from jazz dance to mix of ballet, modern and jazz dance. Always a dreamer, Lou Conte gave both the established and the new artists an opportunity to perform for his Company.

Tony Award nominated, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, was one such artist whose work was commissioned by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Taylor-Corbett worked in theatre and film, choreographing for both ballet and modern dance companies. She was also the principal guest choreographer for Carolina Ballet. An ever successful choreographer, she was the recipient of the 2008 Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in stage directing and choreography. HSDC had further mandated the works of Margo Sappington. She had been a recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award for choreography from the Joffrey Ballet.

HSDC and the very famous Twyla Tharp formed a partnership, which immensely expanded the Company’s repertoire. Seven of her dances, including 'The Fatigue' and 'Fait Accompli' were commissioned into Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Apart from being a great dancer and choreographer, Twyla Tharp has won two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the National Medal of the Arts, a Tony Award for Best Choreography, along with several other honors and awards.

The Company has also expanded by benefiting from the works of non-American choreographers. Jiri Kylian, a Czech choreographer’s work, too, had been commissioned by HSDC. Also, Nacho Duato, a Spanish choreographer’s work had been mandated by the Company. Similarly, Ohad Naharin, an Israeli choreographer’s creations like "Black Milk", "Minus 16", "Tabula Rasa", and "Queens", too, had been made use of by HSDC. The commissioning of works of American, European and other choreographers goes on to show the depth and variety of the Company’s performances.

In 2000, Lou Conte stepped down as the artistic director of the Company. By this time, HSDC had already established itself as a powerhouse of jazz, ballet and modern dance. Jim Vincent, an American dancer and choreographer, was appointed as the new artistic director. Jim before taking over HSDC had built a name for himself in Europe. He was a protégé of both Jiri Kylian and Nacho Duato. For over two decades he had danced in Europe for Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague, Netherlands and Compania Nacional de Danza in Madrid, Spain. He had also created shows for Disneyland Paris. Jim Vincent, who had brought his European experience into greater prominence with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, resigned in 2009.

The Company is now being run by Glenn Edgerton as the new and the third artistic director. Under the visionary leadership of its new artistic director, HSDC continues to create great performances while collaborating with various orchestras. The Chicago based HSDC is heavily involved in community outreach programs. The Company works with several public schools of Chicago in providing dance education to thousands of students each year. 

The New York Times once described the Company as "…… spunky little jazz-dance company with some big festival credits and an eye on continental and European tours." For now the "spunky little jazz-dance company" has its eyes set on you. So do not wait and buy Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Tickets now!