Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Chunky Move: I Want to Dance Better at Parties

March 1–3, 2007

Thursday, March 1, 7:30 pm - First Night post-show talk
Tickets $20, MCA members $16, students $10
Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, 7:30 pm
Tickets $24, MCA members $19, students $10

Definitely one of Chunky Move's best, for its connection to the public … and closet dancers everywhere. - Herald Sun (Australia)

Five men. Five stories. I Want to Dance Better at Parties begins as a live documentary about five men's individual relationships to dance. These men are represented on stage by five dancers and also appear on film projected on screens suspended above.

The work begins as a more factual and informative demonstration about these men and the place dancing has in their lives and gradually evolves into a more subjective and expressive work about who they are. As one after the other divulges information of a much more personal nature, the dancers on stage create physical, dynamic portraits of each subject.

The piece thus moves out of the realm of documentary into being a highly impressionistic dance work, composed of a series of imagined private dances representative of the subjects' inner lives-with dancers eventually hurling themselves across the floor, crashing and tumbling with the precise brutality for which Chunky Move is well-known. Layered with interviews and video montages, we travel from clogging to ballroom, from dusty dance halls to pounding nightclubs, finding out along the way what makes men move.

Based in Melbourne, Chunky Move is audacious and energetic, constantly stretching and redefining dance in Australia's culture. Chunky Move's work constantly seeks to redefine what is or what can be contemporary dance within an ever-evolving Australian culture. The company's work is both diverse in form and content; to date the Company has created a number of works for the stage, site specific projects in it's home city of Melbourne, and new-media and installation work. Fueled by choreographer Gideon Obarzanek and his collaborations with artists in music, design, fashion and film, Chunky Move has toured extensively throughout Australia, Asia, Europe, and the U.S - and now make their Chicago debut.

For more information about Chunky Move

ARTISTS UP CLOSE

Now You Dance
Wednesday, February 28, 6-9 pm
$15 registration or $10 with performance ticket
For this new class, created by the MCA for dancers and late bloomers of all ages and levels, Chunky Move members lead participants through an interview and dance workshop. Personal stories from the interview portion aid in the creation and analysis of the dance portion, designed to help participants articulate individual experiences of dance, daily life, and the relationship between the two.

First Night Postshow Talk
Thursday, March 1
Chunky Move Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek and the company members engage the audience in a conversation immediately following the first performance of I Want to Dance Better at Parties.

Roundtable
Saturday, March 3, 2-4 pm
Free
Gideon Obarzanek and Chicago journalist/dance writer Lucia Mauro lead a focused talk on the social misconceptions and cherished traditions of male dancing in today's society, along with its influence in contemporary dance making.