Best Company in Chicago: Chicago Reader
Seven-year-old Chicago Dance Crash has impressed me with its street-smart, out-of-the-box approach since ‘Tribulation and the Demolition Squad’ – an apocalyptic pop-cul dance-theater piece for 22 created by company founder Mark Hackman in 2005.
Two artistic directors later, Kyle Vincent Terry heads the troupe, and since 2007 he’s branched out into new territory while nurturing the company’s trademark blend of hip-hop, breaking, ballet, martial arts, gymnastics, and modern dance. I haven’t loved everything CDC has done, but it never fails to take chances, and I like the variety inherent in its approach. You name it, Chicago Dance Crash has done it.
The company’s known not only for producing the KTF (Keeper of The Floor) dance contest series but also for its evening-length pieces. Many choreographers tackle long works with a sense of self-importance. Not Terry. He’s fine with pop music and movement for its own sake, as in ‘Destructible Daytrip, set to cuts by rapper El-P, and the even poppier ‘Kyle Kills the Radio Stars’. But Terry can get serious, too: last summer he tried his hand at a danced version of ‘Faust’ that proved to be remarkable for its passion and off-the-wall ideas.
What else distinguishes this surprising troupe? Fine dancers, among them mercurial Marissa Moritz, break-dancing warrior Lyndsey Rhoads, lanky wizard Christopher Courtney, and the fierce Terry himself.