ABOUT
ABOUT
CREATING DANCES SINCE 2004
01.
Founded in 2004 by a dancer, a theater-maker, and a photographer, interdisciplinary projects by our member artists have traveled internationally, from clouds to stages and sidewalks.
Synapse is home to the works of Artistic Director Rachel Damon, and under her direction the company has created projects that have been supported by the exclusive Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Grant, MetLife New Stages for Dance, Experimental Sound Studio: CROSSCUT, Links Hall, The CliffDwellers Arts Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, The Ragdale Foundation, The Chicago Artists Coalition, The Morrison-Shearer Foundation, and The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, among many others.
02.
Going Places
Acclaimed projects include "Stridulate" the hybrid voice-and-movement piece that was named one of New City's "Top Ten Performances of 2009" and presented at the Roy Hart International Arts Centre, "The First Sound," an installation commissioned by Redmoon Theater, and "Factor Ricochet," an evening-length work on the embodiment of gender which premiered in 2011.
With a history of performing throughout the Midwest, Synapse has been presented outside of Chicago at The Southern Theater, Intermedia Arts, The Bryant Lake Bowl Theater, and the TEK BOX in Minneapolis.
03.
Elevating Artists
The Synapse Arts' New Works program fosters artist development through presentation of emerging artists.
Five years of this program have succeeded in sharing resources with independent artists, offering each paid dancers, rehearsal space, and a fully-produced show.
Synapse is also a co-presenter of the popular series collision_theory. Curated by Rachel Damon and Dan Mohr, 'blind-dates' between musicians and dancers bring seasoned improvisers from both disciplines together to navigate an unpredictable landscape of spontaneous collaboration — a "collision." collision_theory has provided a platform for the serious presentation and analysis of cross-disciplinary improvised performance for five years.