Lauren Warnecke – Page 3

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance is Erin Kilmurray, a choreographer and dancer and the creative force behind the popular "Fly Honey Show," on Dec. 8, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Chicagoan of the Year in Dance: Dancemaker Erin Kilmurray looks for what’s next after ‘Fly Honey’

December 18, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

The genre-defying, femme-forward burlesque "Fly Honey Show" was a force in DIY dance but won’t return in 2026. "We set out to do something, and we did it."

Trinity Irish Dance Company members rehearse at Katten Landau Studios in the Loop on April 13, 2025, in preparation for performances at the MCA in May. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Best dance of 2025: From Joffrey to Trinity, a year of big swings for Chicago dance

December 10, 2025 at 5:30 a.m.

As long as I’ve tabulated this list of the best in Chicago dance, I don’t think any year has been quite as gratifying as this one.

Gayeon Jung, Stefan Gonçalvez, Amanda Assucena and Hyuma Kiyosawa in the Joffrey Ballet's 2025 holiday production of "The Nutcracker." (Cheryl Mann)

Review: In its 10th year, the Joffrey Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ is the best version of itself

December 6, 2025 at 11:20 a.m.

Any hint of clunkiness or awkwardness has been smoothed away in the Christopher Wheeldon version that has become the Joffrey's beloved, Chicago-set holiday production. And there is a new Statue...

Ally Tyer, 11, of Winfield, admires the fog bubbles floating through the air while attending Christmas at Cantigny light show and McCormick House tour in Wheaton, Nov. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Holiday lights around Chicago: Our top 10 seasonal displays, from Chicago Botanic Garden to the Cantigny estate

December 7, 2025 at 9:56 a.m.

Along with longtime favorites such as Illumination at Morton Arboretum, we have a few new places to light up your Christmas this year, including downtown LaSalle out near Starved Rock.

Rehearsal director Adam Blyde leads dancers Laila Madison, center, and Natali Taht at a rehearsal of Joffrey Ballet’s "The Nutcracker" snow scene on Nov. 12, 2025, at Joffrey Tower in Chicago’s Loop. (Dominic Di Palermo/baiduhai)

Milestones and memories: Chicago ‘Nutcrackers’ celebrate big anniversaries

November 20, 2025 at 5:45 a.m.

"The Nutcracker" returns every holiday, and we return to Chicago theaters to watch. Of the ballet companies that present E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, Joffrey Ballet and Ruth Page’s productions celebrate milestones...

Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater performs a 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Auditorium Theatre. (Jose Calvo)

Review: Ensemble Español celebrates 50 years with glimmers of things to come

November 17, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

For any dance company to make it to 50 years takes grit and guts. Few have done it with the clarity of purpose shown by Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater.

Dancer Aaron Choate in "Percussion IV" by Bob Fosse in Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Fall Series at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Michelle Reid)

Review: Repetition is a strength in Hubbard Street’s season opener at Steppenwolf

November 15, 2025 at 11:19 a.m.

It’s not a milestone year, but the kickoff to Hubbard Street’s 48th season sure feels like it, with a program spanning five decades in under two hours — all from within...

Images and short biographies of some of those killed and messages left by those attending the touring Nova Exhibition in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood are seen on display, Nov. 8, 2025. The exhibition is devoted to remembering those killed and abducted by Hamas at the music fest in Re’im, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

‘I feel seen’: Nova Exhibition shares stories and artifacts from Oct. 7 attacks

November 12, 2025 at 1:13 p.m.

The Nova Exhibition, created by producers of the Nova Music Festival attacked by Hamas, is aimed at providing support and visibility for survivors, who offer firsthand accounts of what they...

Wade Schaaf's world premiere of “The Capulets” by the Chicago Repertory Ballet at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. (Jorge Sigler)

Review: Chicago Repertory Ballet’s ‘The Capulets’ imagines what the others in ‘Romeo & Juliet’ were doing

November 10, 2025 at 6:21 p.m.

When Shakespeare wrote his tale of star-crossed lovers, he didn’t say much about what everybody else in Verona was up to. That’s where Chicago Repertory Ballet comes in.

Anais Bueno and the Joffrey ensemble in "Broken Wings," part of the Joffrey Ballet's “Matters of the Heart” at the Harris Theater. (Kyle Flubacker)

Review: In Joffrey’s ‘Matters of the Heart,’ Frida Kahlo meets a meet-cute

November 7, 2025 at 11:53 a.m.

The double bill by choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Chanel DaSilva includes “Broken Wings,” inspired by the painter, and “Wabash & You,” set in Chicago.

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