Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre returns, featuring jazz band
The Beverly Arts Center was founded in 1967 but did not find its permanent home until 2002. That was the first year Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre was at the venue.
“They had just built the space so we’ve had a longtime awareness and connection with each other,” said Wilfredo Rivera, co-founder, artistic director and CEO of Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre.
As the Beverly Arts Center was in the midst of revamping, reorganizing and trying to boost professional arts performance in 2021, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre was again in the mix.
“We are a multidisciplinary, multicultural ensemble combining dance and original music to really paint a contemporary narrative about all the different stories that make up the American collage of cultural diversity,” said Rivera, of Chicago’s La Villita (aka Little Village) neighborhood.
“It’s about building relationships with performing arts centers so that we are thoughtfully, efficiently and productively
representing high-quality art in tandem with building community, in tandem with building awareness of how arts can serve as a healing and binding source of energy in the community.”
Those who attended Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s 2021 performance are in for a larger-scale production when the diverse collective of artists return to the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago on May 14.
“This is the first time we get to bring the jazz orchestra. Last year the audience only saw the dancers,” said Rivera. Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre marries jazz, ballet and modern dance in a theatrical way.
“There’s also new pieces that we’re presenting so it’ll be a whole different animal. This will be uplifted to the next level just because the energy will be different in the room with the live band and different pieces.”
Spring premieres in the Beverly Arts Center show include “The Island,” which is composed by James Sanders, choreographed by Rigoberto Saura and based on Marisa de Arce and her little sister finding refuge from a troubled home on a park’s small island in Chicago’s Humboldt Park community.
Another spring premiere is “From Here, To Home,” which honors dance being interwoven into Humboldt Park, recognizes Carmen Flores-Rance for her church and neighborhood work, and is dedicated to “Levan Hill and all others who have fallen victim to gentrification and displacement.”
“What’s cool about these two new pieces is they were inspired by real-life narratives from people from the Humboldt Park neighborhood here in Chicago,” said Rivera, who was born in Honduras.
The show features an eightpiece live band including two vocalists.
“It’ll be an evening of feeling uplifted, joyful and reflective as well. A suite we are doing that has been critically acclaimed and celebrated is ‘Mood Swing.’ This is our response to the pandemic crisis,” Rivera said.
“We started creating this piece that spring that the pandemic hit. We had five different choreographers express their personal journey through the first six or eight months. As you can imagine, the reflections of each choreographer really hit on a lot of issues that we have been living with through this pandemic.”
Other pieces include “Root” by choreographer Monique Haley and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre co-founder Joe Cerqua, a professional composer, which explores a modern American identity rooted in African cultural traditions.
The Beverly Arts Center show also includes “Soul Remedy” by Haley and composer and trumpeter Pharez Whitted. Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre received a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2022 for this piece.
“Even though we all have experienced a very challenging two years, Cerqua Rivera has been able to navigate through these challenges and actually grow. One of the beautiful elements was getting this National Endowment award, which was for the development of ‘Soul Remedy,’ ” Rivera said.
“‘Soul Remedy’ is an unpacking and a celebration of how the Aesthetic of the Cool contributed to the evolution of jazz music and jazz dance and how that lineage is intertwined with the African American experience.”
Founded in 1999 and based in Chicago, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre brings not only eight musicians but also eight dancers to the Beverly Arts Center.
“They are a reflection of the vibe, energy and concept of the company, which is a diverse group of people working together to achieve a common goal,” said Rivera, who trained with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and was a founding member of River North Dance Chicago.