Event Details
Crash at the Historic Orpheum Theater
A one-night performance blending storytelling, street dance, and physical theater, highlighting both Chicago Dance Crash’s ensemble and the next generation of artists.
About the Event
Chicago Dance Crash will visit Knox College for a weeklong residency culminating in a public evening performance at the historic Orpheum Theater. The concert features LXIV (six.four), the company’s newest full-length work, alongside repertory performed in collaboration with Knox College dance students.
Throughout the residency, Artistic Director KC Bevis and the company work closely with students through choreography workshops, masterclasses, and the remounting of On to the Other, a Chicago Dance Crash repertory work. Knox students will perform this piece alongside the company during Saturday night’s concert.
LXIV (six.four)
LXIV (six.four) is a genre-bending hip hop theater work inspired by the legendary 1851 Immortal Chess Game. The story begins off the board, where each chess piece is brought to life as a fully realized character navigating power, hierarchy, and human complexity.
As tensions mount, the audience is drawn to the board and into the heart of the historic match, where a seemingly minor pawn turns the tide and a checkmate unfolds. LXIV (six.four) blends theatrical storytelling with street dance forms, using chess as a metaphor for agency, sacrifice, and choice within structured systems.
The movement and choreography emerged from a deeply collaborative process between Artistic Director KC Bevis, Rehearsal Director Phillip Wood, Choreographer James Morrow, and the Chicago Dance Crash ensemble. Individual artist freestyle is central to the work, honoring freestyle as both a practice and a way of responding, adapting, and telling story in real time.
On to the Other
Originally choreographed by Elijah Motley
Reset and additional choreography by KC Bevis in collaboration with Phillip Wood and Logan Howell
Combining various street dance styles, contemporary forms, and theatrical storytelling, On to the Other takes audiences through the lived experiences of the dancers. The work explores how those experiences can be embodied, interpreted, and transformed on stage.
As part of the Knox College residency, the piece will be reset on Knox students, offering them the opportunity to engage directly with a professional repertory process. Through this experience, students work closely with Chicago Dance Crash leadership and company members, gaining insight into learning, inhabiting, and performing established choreography while bringing their own voices and movement quality into the work.
YES Educational Performances
As part of the residency, Chicago Dance Crash will present two YES educational performances at the Orpheum Theater for area school audiences.
These interactive performances introduce students to the history and evolution of hip hop dance, from its roots in funk to the styles shaping contemporary culture today. Through live demonstration and guided participation, students engage with breaking, popping, social dances, and hip hop freestyle, gaining insight into the cultural context, discipline, and creative expression that define hip hop dance.
Join Us
Join us for a one-night performance that blends storytelling, street dance, and physical theater, highlighting both Chicago Dance Crash’s ensemble and the next generation of artists.