Founded five years ago and recipient of a 2019 Ruth Page Award, the Chicago Dance History Project has steadily built a digital archive of original and collected research documenting theatrical dance in Chicago, hosted and produced numerous public events exploring topics in Chicago dance, and amassed a large collection of performance footage and other historical materials. “We’ve been working with a sense of urgency to capture as many dance histories of Chicago as we can, while we still can, through recorded oral history interviews primarily. So far we’ve interviewed 131 people,” says CDHP executive and artistic director Jenai Cutcher. “Now that it isn’t quite possible in the same way, I’m working with the same urgency to make our materials as accessible as possible.”
Though little in living Chicago history can be compared to our present moment, Cutcher notes that resilience and creativity are persistent themes in CDHP interviews. “Finding freedom within limitations is something artists do, and stories like that come to me all the time. Now is no different. Artists learn how to be resourceful. Think of the original Links Hall. It was right by the el tracks, so everybody paused when the trains went by. There was no backstage or wing spaces so they used the closet doors. The collaborative spirit of the Chicago dance community is something else I think about. Folks have always worked collectively to address the needs of the community and to take care of each other—a good example of that is the inception of Dance for Life”—the annual concert founded in 1991 by Keith Elliott, Todd Kiech, Harriet Ross, Danny Kopelson, and Gail Kalver that raises funds for dancers living with HIV.
