Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s core purpose is to bring artists, art and audiences together to enrich, engage, educate, transform and change lives through the experience of dance. Celebrating its 44th season in 2021-22, Hubbard Street continues to be an innovative force, supporting its creative talent while presenting repertory by major international artists. Hubbard Street Dance Chicago grew out of the Lou Conte Dance Studio at LaSalle and Hubbard Streets in 1977, when Lou Conte gathered an ensemble of four dancers to perform in senior centers across Chicago. Cohen soon joined the company as its first Executive Director. Conte continued to direct the company for 23 years, during which he initiated and grew relationships with both emerging and established artists including Nacho Duato, Daniel Ezralow, Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Twyla Tharp. Conte’s successor Jim Vincent widened Hubbard Street’s international focus, began Hubbard Street’s collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and cultivated growth from within, launching the Inside/Out Choreographic Workshop and inviting Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo to make his first work. Gail Kalver’s 23 years of executive leadership provided continuity from 1984 through the 2006–07 season, when Jason Palmquist joined the organization as Executive Director. Glenn Edgerton became Artistic Director in 2009 and, together with Palmquist, moved this legacy forward on multiple fronts. Inside/Out is now part of a three-pronged model of building repertoire called the Choreographic Development Initiative, aimed at being a national model for artistic development while proactively diversifying contemporary concert dance. In 2021, former company dancer Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell was named the fourth Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Season 44: RE/CHARGE marks her debut season as the artistic leader of the organization, with the goal of continuing to diversify the company’s repertoire and ensemble while building on the incredible legacy and reputation that HSDC has already established. Along with David McDermott, Executive Director since 2017, the company is looking forward to expanding its audience reach and increasing the local, national, and global reputation of Hubbard Street. The main company’s 14 members comprise one of the only ensembles in the U.S. to perform all year long, domestically and around the world, while four nationally renowned Summer Intensive Programs bring young artists into its ranks. Hubbard Street’s Education and Community Programs set nationwide benchmarks for arts experience and appreciation in schools, impacting the lives of thousands of students. In 2009, Hubbard Street launched Youth and Family Programs to teach dance with an emphasis on creative expression. Adaptive Dance Programs for youth with autism spectrum disorder and physical disabilities begin in fall 2014, joining the first dance-based program in the Midwest for those affected by Parkinson’s disease.
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