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By Amy Karagiannakis
From student performances in New York City and Washington, DC, to an alumni concert in Chicago, Dance at Illinois continues to make a name for itself. This past academic year, students, faculty, and alumni performed on some of the nation’s most prominent stages, cementing the department’s growing national visibility, all made possible through the generosity of alumni and donors.
Last fall, alums of Dance at Illinois—once called “a hot bed of choreographic innovation” by The New York Times writer Siobhan Burke—traveled to Chicago to present original works at Links Hall. The result was two vibrant nights of alumni performances on November 1–2, 2024, partially funded by the Beverly Blossom and Carey Erickson Alumni Award Fund. This fund honors the legacy of the late Carey Erickson (BFA ’72 Dance) and his mentor, longtime Dance faculty member Beverly Blossom. Richard Erickson (BS ’75 Civil Engineering) established the fund in honor of his brother Carey.
In the spring, current students traveled to New York City to perform at The Joyce Theater as part of the biennial University Partners Showcase produced by the Martha Graham Dance Company. Their performance of José Limón’s The Winged on April 5, 2025, reconstructed by Professor Roxane D’Orléans Juste, was first performed during the department’s October Dance concert at Krannert Center. This opportunity was made possible through a generous gift from alumna Fernadina Chan (MA ʼ72 Dance).
A trailblazer in arts education and founding artistic dean of Boston Arts Academy, Chan received her MA in Dance from Illinois. Her Fernadina Chan No Debt for Dancers Fund was established to help make arts education more affordable. José Limón deeply influenced Chan’s own career and inspired her to become a dancer. She traveled from Boston to attend the Joyce performance and was able to meet Jeremiah Jordan, the 2024–25 recipient of her named scholarship.
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Earlier this year, faculty member Rachel Rizzuto and her cast were selected to perform Martha and Hanya and Doris and Charles at the American College Dance Association’s National College Dance Festival, held May 2–4, 2025, at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. The festival highlights outstanding work from college dance programs across the country. Their trip was supported in part by donors to the department’s Production and Enrichment Fund.
As Dance at Illinois looks ahead, Department Head Sara Hook is enthusiastic about what’s to come. “Our next project is the Black on Black: Celebration of Black Dance season featuring a work by the mother of Black Dance—the legendary Katherine Dunham. Dunham’s work has never been performed by an academic department, so this represents another first,” she said, emphasizing the importance of the continued role of alumni and donor support in expanding the reach of Dance at Illinois.