SOUTH CHICAGO DANCE THEATRE PRESENTS THREE WORLD PREMIERES AT THE HARRIS THEATER IN ONE CELEBRATORY EVENING, MAY 1, 2026

SOUTH CHICAGO DANCE THEATRE PRESENTS THREE WORLD PREMIERES AT THE HARRIS THEATER IN ONE CELEBRATORY EVENING, MAY 1, 2026

CHICAGO – South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) presents its ninth annual home season concert, An Evening with South Chicago Dance Theatre, featuring three electric world premieres by award-winning choreographers Natasha Adorlee, David Dorfman, and SCDT Founder and Director of Vision and Strategy and Resident Choreographer Kia S. Smith. The four-part mixed repertory program concludes with a powerful work by renowned choreographer Donald Byrd. An Evening with South Chicago Dance Theatre takes place for one night only at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 West Randolph, on Friday, May 1, 2026.

An Evening with South Chicago Dance Theatre is paired with SCDT’s Inaugural Legacy Builders Benefit. Legacy Builder ticket holders are invited to attend an exclusive intermission reception and an after-party and silent disco with the artists following the performance. Tickets for the performance and benefit are available at southchicagodancetheatre.com.

“Dorfman, Adorlee, and Byrd are choreographers that I have admired for years. Presenting their works on the Harris stage will foster a sense of hope, connectivity, joy, light, and faith for the future as we dream together of a more equitable tomorrow. I am personally pleased to share a new world premiere that I began creating on SCDT artists during a residency in Berlin, Germany, earlier this season, advancing SDCT’s role as a platform for emerging and established choreographers in Chicago and beyond,” says Smith.

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHERS

Natasha Adorlee is an Emmy Award–winning choreographer, filmmaker, composer, and educator based in San Francisco. A first‑generation Asian American artist, she was the final Artistic Fellow with Amy Seiwert’s Imagery and began choreographing in 2016 while cultivating an acclaimed performance career with Robert Moses’ Kin, ODC/Dance, Kate Weare & Co., and the San Francisco Symphony.

Donald Byrd is the Artistic Director of the Seattle based Spectrum Dance Theater, a TONY-nominated (The Color Purple) and Bessie Award-winning (The Minstrel Show) choreographer. He has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, and The Joffrey Ballet, among others; and has worked extensively in theater and opera including The New York Public Theater, The 5th Avenue Theater, CenterStage (Baltimore), Seattle Opera, Dutch National Opera, The Atlanta Opera, The Israeli Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and San Francisco Opera.

David Dorfman has been making movement-based dance theater since graduating with an MFA in Dance from Connecticut College in 1981. In 1987, he founded David Dorfman Dance (DDD) in New York City with the intention of creating politically and socially relevant work.

Kia S. Smith is a Chicago-born choreographer and artistic leader whose training includes Hyde Park School of Dance, Joel Hall Dance Center, ETA Creative Arts Foundation, StoryCatchers Theatre, and the American Dance Festival. She holds a BFA in Dance from Western Michigan University and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she was an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellow.

Performance tickets are $20-65. Legacy Builders tickets are $250. Tickets will be available for purchase online at southchicagodancetheatre.com.

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