Tag Archives: Chicago Dance Crash

All Dance and No Story?…

By Wendy Simmons

The musical play The Trials of Busta Keaton is an exciting display of artistry put to sound. Full of dance performances, the players  incorporated ballet, hip hop, breakdancing and jazz all while shaded in black, white and grays in order to transform the stage into an old black and white movie. With added splashes of color the entire production was elating however not what I expected to see.

Branded as a modern day urban tribute to the silent film guru Buster Keaton, it gave the impression of the silent film genre displayed on stage. There were many dance performances but only one scene that actually gave me the impression of a story being told.

If you are a fan of dance pageantry then Busta Keaton is the play for you! But don’t expect to be lead into a past where your imagination and the performers interpretation evoke emotion. That’s what I expected and was sadly disappointed.

I give it $$

Qwan Sauce!

Contemporary dance company Chicago Dance Crash will present their latest production, Qwan Sauce! to Chicago audiences this August.

Described as modern dance meets break dance, inspired by the films You Got Served, and Save the Last Dance, Qwan Sauce! tells the story of break-dancer Qwan’s (Daniel “Qwan” Gibson) struggle to overcome his troubled background and modern dance prodigy Becky Hutt’s (Rebecca Hutt) search for success and happiness on her own terms.  

This story of the struggle between modern dance and breaking ends with an ultimate final battle with the audience deciding the victor.

Qwan Sauce! will run for two weekends, August 6-15, 2010, at Stage 773 located at 1225 W. Belmont Avenue in Chicago. Friday and Saturday performances will begin at 8:00 pm and Sunday performances at 3:00 pm., Tickets for all performances are $18 in advance and $20 at the door.

For general audience information, please contact Stage 773 at (773) 327-5252. For more information on Chicago Dance Crash, please visit their website, www.chicagodancecrash.com.