Site Specific Performance of Dance and Music
Saturday, December 4, 2021
11:00AM – 12:00PM
at the Uptown branch of the Chicago Public Library
929 W. Buena Avenue
Chicago IL 60613
FREE
all ages, bodies, and minds welcome
for accessibility information please see the Library website at this link: https://www.chipublib.org/locations/70/
Synapse Arts dancers Rachel Damon, Kait Dessoffy, and Chartamia “Shay” Turner with musician Tom Benko will take over the library lobby and public spaces in this one-of-a-kind activation of the building.
Attendees are free to watch for a few minutes or stay for the full performance. A limited number of chairs will be available.
photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis
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Free Dance Day 2021
Thursday, October 14th 10:00am-6:00pm
At Loyola Park, 1230 W. Greenleaf Ave. Chicago, IL 60626
FREE
All ages, bodies, and minds welcome - please see access and inclusion notes below
*Pre-registration required for classes*
Register for classes at this link: https://synapsearts.networkforgood.com/events/34883-free-dance-day
Performances do not require pre-registration.
Join Synapse Arts for a full day of FREE dance classes and performances at Loyola Park! Visit Synapse’s home studio as an Arts Partner in Residence with the Chicago Park District to take beginning or intermediate/advanced modern dance classes, bring kids to try a hip hop class, and watch informal performances by professional dancers from New Works and Mural Dances 2021.
Due to COVID-19 Safety Guidelines, RSVPs will be required for classes as strict capacities will be in place. If a class is full, please email Molly at info(at)synapsearts(dot)com to be added to the waiting list.
Schedule
All times CDT
10:00-11:00am: Adult beginning modern with Jordan Reinwald in the Sky Room, ages 18+, registration required
11:10am: New Works performance by Rahila Coats on the beach, all ages (no pre-registration required), approximately 15 minutes
3:00-4:15pm: Intermediate/Advanced Phrasebuilding class with Kristina Fluty in the Sky Room, ages 18+, registration required
4:30-5:25pm: Beginning Youth Hip Hop with Tim Tsang in the Sky Room, ages 7-12, registration required
5:35pm: Mural Dances performance directed by Tim Tsang and Kara Roseborough, at outdoor locations in the park (see Access Notes for full info), all ages (no pre-registration required), approximately 18 minutes
COVID-19 Safety
Please note: classes will take place indoors, fully masked, with reduced capacity. Per Chicago Park District policy, only fully vaccinated individuals will be permitted into class, with proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
In compliance with the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District guidelines, we are asking all attendees to any Free Dance Day Events to adhere to the following:
-Stay home if sick or having symptoms of COVID-19
-Provide proof of full vaccination for designated classes for students age 12 and up
-Universal and correct use of well-fitted masks that cover the nose and mouth
-Maintain physical distancing
-Hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes
Access and Inclusion notes
Full document outlining access features and including photos available at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UqLXcssqEo-vdln3UjruYzzA_IaArfZcY9X3ie5nwpQ/edit
Synapse Arts events actively welcome individuals with diverse identities, including all genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, income levels, ages, parent/caregiver statuses, backgrounds, and household structures.
All bodies and minds are welcome at all classes and events, please note that proof of vaccination is required for indoor classes. For outdoor performances we are able to welcome people who are unable to be vaccinated. Vaccination status will not be checked for outdoor performances, though masks and social distancing are recommended.
Classes are on the second floor in a large room with one wall of windows and one wall of mirrors. The second floor can be reached by elevator or two flights of wide stairs with railings.
Bathrooms are available on the 1st and 2nd floors. Synapse spaces are welcoming of all genders, however the building’s bathrooms are labeled and separated by binary genders.
All Synapse Arts events are relaxed and sensory-friendly. For sensory considerations, the Sky Room does have fluorescent lighting overhead. We don’t plan to turn them on, however if the natural light isn’t enough, we may use the fluorescents. There is a wall of windows that we may open to allow for airflow. Some classes and events will have a photographer and/or videographer present. Please refrain from wearing or using products with strong scents in the studio.
You are welcome to watch or leave the class at any time. Chairs will be available along the sides of the studio and in the lobby with a view of class through glass doors.
There is no dress code, please wear clothes you can move comfortably in. This can include soft soled dance shoes or socks or bare feet. Hip Hop class can be done in sneakers.
What we can provide - amplified voices for teachers, ASL interpretation (please request this by checking the box during registration), large print transcripts and/or outlines, audio description for Rahila’s performance.
What we can’t provide - live captions, assurance against fluorescent lighting, total privacy or quiet (all spaces are shared and some fully public).
Other access features may be available. Please email Molly at info@synapsearts.com.
Descriptions
Beginning Adult Modern at 10am with Jordan Reinwald - This class will include a floor based warmup and a led improvisational experience to help students find their embodiment. Students will spend the second half of class learning and practicing a repeatable modern phrase. Open to new movers and/or those returning to movement class. Ages 18+
Rahila Coats’ performance at 11:10am - outside on the beach. Continuing her debut film “what I know”, Rahila Coats will perform an expansion of her work that was presented with Synapse Arts in June 2021. Researching ancestry and family connections, Rahila is looking back on her grandmother’s life in Chicago and other ancestors that lived in the city before her through improvisation, sound, and material.
Intermediate/Advanced Phrasebuilding Workshop at 3pm with Kristina Fluty - After coming together to briefly warm the tissues and introduce ourselves to each other, we will build one long phrase of movement to repeat and explore. This class is intended for intermediate and advanced dancers. Ages 18+
Beginning Hip Hop at 4:30pm with Tim Tsang - ages 7-12. This class aims introduce dancers to basic hip-hop skills, ideas, and learn a fun combo. This class will include an isolation warmup, and groove exercise. Sneakers are allowed.
Mural Dances performance at 5:35pm - outside in the park, co-directed by Kara Roseborough and Tim Tsang, featuring dancers Isabelle Taylor, Chartamia “Shay” Turner, and Kara Roseborough. “Ancestral March” was part of Synapse Arts’ Mural Dances series this year, based on the mural at Houston Park, honoring civil rights activist Jessie “Ma” Houston. The work explores the contemporary, historical, and ancient imagery of the African and Black diaspora present in the mural, specifically as it pertains to the violence and incarceration of black bodies.
Photo credits: upper left - Kristina Fluty teaching, photo by Nadia Oussenko, upper right - Mural Dances performance, photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis, lower left - Rahila Coats performing, screenshot from video, lower right - previous Free Dance Day class, photo by Matt Griffo
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Join the artists of Mural Dances for a relaxing outdoor gathering. Enjoy conversations with the artists, live cello music, and delicious refreshments in the charming shop and outdoor patio space of Dizzy Cow Candy.
Saturday September 18th, 4:00-6:00pm
2155 W Irving Park Road, Chicago IL 60618
$40, tickets available at this link: https://synapsearts.networkforgood.com/events/32449-synapse-soiree-2021
Mural Dances is a series of three performances which take place on Saturday afternoons on “third Saturdays” of July 17, August 21, and September 18, 2021. Performances will be created in response to murals at Barrett Park in Pilsen, at Jessie “Ma” Houston Park in Bronzeville, and at Loyola Park in Rogers Park, representing the South, West, and North sides of the city.
In collaboration with The Chicago Park District, Synapse Arts will present a series of original dances – performed with live music in front of three of the city’s iconic murals. Featuring professional, local artists, these three events are free to the public and promise a safe way for residents to come together and celebrate their neighborhoods.
For more information about Mural Dances, please visit the Synapse website here.
Your ticket purchase allows us to keep events like Mural Dances FREE for neighborhoods and communities across Chicago. Celebrate 16 seasons of supporting artists and community programming with Synapse Arts.
Thank you for your support!
photo of dancer Amanda Ramirez by Matthew Gregory Hollis
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Mural Dances
live dance and music performances at Chicago Murals
every third Saturday from 1pm to 3pm
FREE - all ages - BYOC (bring your own chair)
July 17 at Barrett Park in Pilsen
2022 W Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60608
directed by Amanda Ramirez
August 21 at Jessie “Ma” Houston Park in Kenwood/Bronzeville
5001 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60615
directed by Tim Tsang and Kara Roseborough
September 18 at Loyola Park in Rogers Park
1230 W Greenleaf Ave, Chicago, IL 60626
directed by Rachel Damon
ACCESS NOTE: Parks are fully accessible
NOTA DE INGRESO: Parques son completamente accesible
LIVESTREAM
Check out a part of each event via livestream on the Out of Site Twitch channel at 1:30pm on each date!
No account or sign ups needed, just follow the link to view.
ABOUT
Like the colorful outdoor artwork that will set the stage, Synapse Arts’ “Mural Dances” are site-specific public works that aim to enliven Chicago neighborhoods. Local artists as diverse as the city itself will engage audiences with choreography, costumes, and music in response to Chicago’s iconic neighborhood murals.
Mural Dances are intended to enliven neighborhood settings, connecting residents and visitors to the urban environment with the comforts and celebration of visual art, music, dance, and food. This series will celebrate the neighborhoods of Chicago through murals, dance, and music, bringing together local artists of many types.
By bringing joyful and intriguing professional dance-theater to under-appreciated and pedestrian spaces, we foster neighborhood pride and help to build more connected communities. Public performances of professional dance exemplify our core belief that everyone can dance and dance can happen anywhere, anytime.
Mural Dances is a series of three performances which take place on Saturday afternoons on “third Saturdays” of July 17, August 21, and September 18, 2021.
Performances will be created in response to murals at Barrett Park in Pilsen, at Jessie “Ma” Houston Park in Bronzeville, and at Loyola Park in Rogers Park, representing the South, West, and North sides of the city.
In collaboration with The Chicago Park District, Synapse Arts will present a series of original dances – performed with live music in front of three of the city’s iconic murals. Featuring professional, local artists, these three events are free to the public and promise a safe way for residents to come together and celebrate their neighborhoods.
On July 17 finds Mural Dances in Pilsen at Barrett Park where choreographer Amanda Ramirez will respond to a mural of cultural luminaries including Frida Kahlo. On August 21 in Bronzeville’s Jessie “Ma” Houston Park, in front of the 2-story mural celebrating the eponymous civil rights leader, directors Tim Tsang and Kara Roseborough will debut a work that reflects their personal BIPOC experiences. On September 18 at Loyola Park in Rogers Park, area resident Rachel Damon will direct a piece celebrating the neighborhood’s rich diversity of heritages and queerfolx. With 600 feet of lakefront murals as the backdrop, the dancers will highlight colorful paintings of peace and unity while performing alongside live percussionist Tom Benko.
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Info Danzas Murales en español
“Mural Dances” llegará este verano a los parques de Chicago
Tres obras específicas del sitio presentadas gratuitamente por Synapse Arts
En colaboración con el popular programa “Night Out in the Parks” del Distrito de Parques de Chicago, Synapse Arts presentará una serie de danzas originales que se interpretarán con música en vivo en frente de coloridos murales, ubicados en tres parques de la ciudad de Chicago. Como las icónicas obras de arte al aire libre que preparará el escenario, estas “Danzas Murales” animarán sus entornos vecinales, conectando residentes y visitantes del entorno urbano a través de la danza, la música y el arte visual. Coreografiadas y presentadas por artistas locales tan diversos como la propia ciudad, “Mural Dances” tiene como objetivo fomentar el orgullo del vecindario y profundizar las conexiones con la comunidad al traer profesionales alegres danza-teatro a los espacios públicos a menudo infravalorados.
Tres fechas. Tres parques. Tres obras Únicas.
El sábado, 17 de julio, se presentará la primera Danza Mural en Barrett Park en Pilsen, donde la coreógrafa Amanda Ramírez responderá a un mural de luminarias culturales entre ellas Frida Kahlo, Mahatma Gandhi y Rosa Parks en un evento de estilo barbacoa mexicano-estadounidense.
El Sábado, 21 de agosto encuentra Synapse Arts en El Parque Jessie “Ma” Houston de Kenwood. Delante del mural de 2 pisos que celebra al líder de los derechos civiles del mismo nombre, los codirectores Tim Tsang y Kara Roseborough estrenará una obra que refleja sus experiencias personales de gente indígena, y personas de color.
El Sábado, 18 de septiembre en Loyola Park en Rogers Park, la residente del área Rachel Damon dirige una pieza que celebra la rica diversidad de culturas, patrimonios y queerfolx del barrio. Con 600 pies de murales frente al lago como telón de fondo, los bailarines destacarán coloridas pinturas de paz y unidad mientras tocan con el percusionista en vivo Tom Benko.
Presentado de 1:00pm a 3:00pm CDT en cada fecha, los tres eventos de Mural Dances son GRATIS para todas las edades. ¡Traiga su propia silla! Las partes seleccionadas de cada actuación serán en vivo transmitido a través del canal de Twitch fuera del sitio (“Out of Site”).
En la imagen: coreógrafos Tim Tsang, Kara Roseborough, Rachel Damon, Amanda Ramírez
Notas de acceso e inclusión
Los eventos de Synapse Arts dan la bienvenida activamente a personas con identidades diversas, incluidos todos los géneros, orientaciones sexuales, razas, etnias, religiones, habilidades, niveles de ingresos, edades, padres/cuidadores estados, antecedentes y estructuras domésticas. Todos los eventos de Synapse Arts son relajados y sensoriales. Para solicitudes de servicio de accesibilidad, póngase en contacto con info@synapsearts.com.
Acerca de Synapse Arts
Desde 2004, bajo la dirección de la cofundadora directora artística Rachel Damon, con sede en Chicago, Synapse Arts ha estado nutriendo la individualidad y desafiando las normas sociales sobre la identidad. Todas las facetas de la compañía, desde la creación colaborativa de sus obras de danza-teatro hasta actuaciones, están diseñados para incluir y llegar a todos los miembros de la comunidad independientemente de edad, capacidad, raza, identidad de género, etnia, orientación sexual o nivel de ingresos. Descrito por el Chicago Tribune como una compañía de “artistas serios que trabajan con inteligencia y un punto estético”, Synapse Arts lleva la danza-teatro a la comunidad a través de escuelas, parques y actuaciones en espacios públicos. Se ofrecen clases gratuitas y de bajo costo para adultos y niños de todos los niveles. El programa bienal New Works de la compañía asesora a jóvenes artistas y complementa sus representaciones anuales de obras originales de danza y teatro.
En colaboración con el Distrito de Parques de Chicago
“Mural Dances” se presenta como parte de la serie Night Out del Distrito de Parques de Chicago, con el apoyo de la Oficina de la Alcaldía y el Departamento de Asuntos Culturales y Eventos Especiales de Chicago. Ahora en su 9 año, el programa Night Out in the Parks 2021 presenta eventos culturales todo el año en los parques del barrio de toda la ciudad. El Distrito de Parques de Chicago en asociación con más de 100 artistas y organizaciones locales, presentan eventos y actuaciones atractivas que mejorar la calidad de vida en todo Chicago y amplificar la vitalidad artística y cultural en cada vecindario. A través de múltiples disciplinas, que incluyen teatro, música, películas, danza, trabajo específico del sitio, programas de naturaleza y festivales comunitarios, la serie tiene como objetivo apoyar Artistas con sede en Chicago, facilitan asociaciones y programas basados en la comunidad, cultivan el civismo compromiso, y garantizar la equidad en el acceso a las artes para todos los habitantes de Chicago. Para ampliar aún más el alcance de estas experiencias culturales, artísticas y de la naturaleza, el Distrito de Parques de Chicago ha montado una plataforma virtual para destacar la diversidad de las ofertas artísticas de Chicago y proporcionar equidad acceso a algunas de estas actuaciones para todos los habitantes de Chicago y visitantes por igual. Para obtener más información sobre Night Out in the Parks, así como actualizaciones sobre las pautas de salud y seguridad, visite www.nightoutintheparks.com.
Patrocinadores adicionales
La serie “Mural Dances” es posible en parte gracias a una subvención del capítulo de Chicago de la Fundación impresionante. https://www.awesomefoundation.org/
Synapse Arts está en residencia en Loyola Park y Berger Park a través del Distrito de Parques de Chicago Programa Socios de artes en Résidence que une a artistas y comunidades en los parques de Chicago.
El apoyo a Synapse Arts también proviene del Fondo MacArthur para las Artes y la Cultura en Fundación Richard H. Driehaus, Fundación Gaylord y Dorothy Donnelley, El Departamento de Asuntos Culturales y Eventos Especiales, Obra Artística fondo, Forefront, El Nacional Dotación para las Artes, Abogados para las Artes Creativas, Noche en los Parques, y muchos individuos generosos. Estos programas son parcialmente apoyados por una subvención de Illinois artes Agencia del Consejo.
Conéctese con Synapse Arts en www.SynapseArts.com o en Instagram, Twitter, y Facebook.
Créditos de la foto: la foto superior es una captura de pantalla del video de Matt Griffo, fotos del coreógrafo de izquierda a derecha por Tim Tsang, Cheryl Neufville Etiang, Matt Griffo, Sarah Glover
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