Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble

A Unique Creative Process

“Working with CDE is like an abstract painting. Up close, or while creating, it's a little hard to understand. But when you step away, or when the project is finished, you see an intricate piece of fascinating art.”
Morgan Christiansen, Managing and Marketing Director and Ensemble Member

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble draws inspiration from literature, historical sources and from life experience.

Since literature/storytelling is such an essential element, company members are encouraged to share novels, short stories, and poems they find inspiring. Line readings are incorporated into the structure of rehearsals, driving performance creation and allowing language to influence movement choices. Although CDE often chooses abstract text as a building block, it is our constant goal to find accessibility in language through its connection to movement. When movement is overlaid onto a reading, for example T.S. Eliot’s epic Poem, The Waste Land, the complexities of the writing shine in new ways - and simultaneously become more accessible for audiences.

Collaboration in the Creative Process

Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble approaches each production with an attitude of experimentation and discovery. In this laboratory of creativity, we explore the contributions of ensemble members and collaborators in the development of the scripts, choreography and staging. The rehearsal begins with the improvisation of both movement and dialogue, initiated through images, words or phrases, gestures, or simple dance steps. Pieces can be "under construction" for months, if not years. Workshop performances and talkbacks are a crucial part of the process, as feedback from audiences and other artists is vital to ability to clearly communicate the concept of the performance.

Performance

Performance is the fruition of months or years creating an original performance work. Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble creates thought provoking and engaging theatre by blending together many elements of theatrical experience, be they movement, spoken word, lighting, costuming, sound design, film, or visual art. Our hope is to create "performance with a purpose" - artistic works that alter the way our audiences view the world and help to bring a greater sense of awareness to the social issues around us.