The Chicago Park District is pleased to present a new way to spend a Night Out—at Home. We’re bringing the show to you!
Join us as we shine a virtual spotlight on the 2020 Night Out in the Parks partners this summer, sharing the best of Chicago’s performing arts community in the comfort of your home.
“Your Night Out at Home” features select works from Night Out artists from across Chicago, providing a chance to travel and explore the incredible breadth of talent our city offers. You’ll find a diverse array of established companies and emerging artists across many disciplines, inviting you to experience something new and keeping you connected to the rhythm of the city.
Below, you’ll find a growing program of performances ranging from dance to jazz, theater to world music. Watch a few or watch them all, but check back as we’ll add videos weekly throughout the summer. If you’re thirsty for more, dive into the list of all 120 artist awardees for the 2020 season, with links to their websites and social media so you can get to know them.
Until we can safely gather for an evening of Night Out in the Parks performances, we’ll continue to create ways for us to sing, dance, engage, and celebrate our city’s vibrant culture, together.
Your Night Out at Home is Supported by:
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This Dance is for the Parks
Created by Project Bound artistic directors Ashley Deran and Emily Loar, “This Dance is for the Parks” was commissioned by Dance in the Parks for its 2020 season. This work was created during phase three of the Covid-19 pandemic and is a celebration of dance in public spaces while maintaining safety through physical distance.
Production Credits:
Music: Idontknow by Jamie XX
Choreographers: Ashley Deran & Emily Loar
Location: Kenwood Park
Audio/Video credits: Videography and editing by Ashley Deran
Dancers: Sam Crouch, Katy Fedrigon, Timothy Tsang
Chicago's favorite hip hop kids with a positive message, The Happiness Club is a diverse group of Chicago kids who encourage positive values and social change through original hip hop and pop music, dance and rap. The kids sing out against drugs, violence and bullying and say "Yes" to education, tolerance, high self-esteem and achieving goals. The Happiness Club, a 501c3, provides kids, ages 8-21, with free, year-round performing arts education. Visit www.thehappinessclub.com for more information or to donate.
The HC Slide |
Shake That Stress Off |
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The Happiness Club Slide, a hip hop line dance that's great for learning some dance moves and getting some exercise. Good for the whole family! musical tracks: Bionik Lyrics written by The Happiness Club, Musical tracks: Bionik |
If there has ever been a time for young people to manage their stress levels, this is it! Dance it off with The Happiness Club! We guarantee you'll feel better. This number was performed at last year's Kidzapalooza in Grant Park Lyrics written by The Happiness Club (Dorian Rhea, Tre Daniels, Edward "Young Vet" Taylor, Delmarie, and William Harris)
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Everyday People Everyday Action
Clinard Dance and Japanese photographer, Akito Tsuda, teamed up to create an interdisciplinary work based on Akito's photos of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood in the early 1990's. The static discipline of photography and moving disciplines of Flamenco music and dance work like a jigsaw puzzle shifting the foreground and background continuously; the art forms are different but the key is that something gets shared and there’s a richer sense of each other individually, artistically and culturally.
Akito's photos of the tailor shop, the shoemaker, and the smiling lady at the laundry, open the heart. They inspire the percussive footwork of Flamenco, inviting the rhythms of the sewing machine, the washers/dryers, and the complex sounds taken from the shoemaker. People's everyday repetitive actions/sounds are the percussive fuel for establishing both the tempos and original score by The Flamenco Quartet Project and choreography by Wendy Clinard. The work incorporates various influences, drawing on hip hop, beatbox, flamenco and Son Jarocho, as they seek to tell a story about everyday people doing everyday actions, and celebrate, articulate, and magnify the understated beauty of the ordinary.
Marija Temo — Guitarist
Steve Gibons — Violinist
Christopher Courtney — Hip Hop Dancer
Yuri Lane — Beatboxer
Wendy Clinard — Dancer
Marfil Keller Alemañ — Dancer
Camilo Rincón — Musician
Christine Shallenberg — Lighting Designer
Akito Tsuda — Photographer
Beats & Bliss
Mandala Arts presents "Beats & Bliss", a showcase of South and Southeast Asian rhythm and melody. Three artists share percussive styles from Bali, India and Thailand through a call and response between drums from each region. In the final act, the Bansuri, a wooden flute, weaves together the patterns and sets the stage for an atmospheric cross-cultural conversation.
Audio/Video credits: Peter Dorman (videography)
Musician/Dancer/Actor credits: Chethan Anant, I Gusti Pak Ngurah Kertayuda, Chamni Sriparam
Additional Production Credits: Ashwaty Chennat (production management), Mandala Arts (producer)
Night Out in the Parks Video Archive
For even more virtual Night Out in the Parks content, check out these videos from previous weeks of Your Night Out at Home.
- About Face Theatre
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Power in Pride at Home: The Constitution of Queerdom
Power in Pride at Home: My Power Is
Power in Pride at Home: Whose History
- Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
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Great Black Music Ensemble "In These Times"
- Black Empire Sound System
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The Black Internationale
- Full Moon Jam
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Digital Full Moon Jam
Full Moon Reserve Jam
- Jabberwocky Marionettes
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Adventures of a Dart Frog Puppet Band
Bumble Bee Song
Tambourine Turtle Puppet
- Live the Spirit Residency
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Dr. Reid
Not Sure Yet
- Nejla Yatkin Dance
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Lady of the Pond
- Synapse Arts
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Weave Trees