Dance Chicago Founder John Schmitz

An Interview with CAR Researcher Angela Ruiz 

The inspiration of a couple people had to come together in order to form Dance Chicago. I was a dance producer and I had always done show cases and productions managing many dance groups. Fred Solari, our co-founder, had been working in theatre production for 10 years. He approached me with this idea for a dance showcase to produce local artists’ work. This became the vision for Dance Chicago. 

That was almost 13 years ago. At that time, the market for dance in Chicago was very small. Many dance companies didn’t know about each other. I knew, from being involved with many dance companies, that there was good work being made out there that just didn’t have the support to be produced. These different companies had their own small followings, but only a few of the larger companies had the visibility they needed. In short, there was no general market for dance in Chicago.  

We caught the critics off guard when they caught wind of the event. I mean, many companies didn’t know anything about each other, much less communicate or perform together. Needless to say, the critics were pretty interested in how things would play out—so we got lots of support from the press. 

We continue to try to be innovative every year because we want to keep our audience excited about Dance Chicago. We also aim for works that have an emotional impact; programs that have the potential to give birth to larger works, programs, and even tours. We try to broker those kinds of opportunities for Chicago choreographers.  

What is most important to us is the artistic value of the program because Dance Chicago covers a large spectrum of dance. We don’t showcase like other programs either—that is, with the prestigious company names, or those endowed groups up first. There aren’t any rules to follow mind you, we could do that. But we try to form each program by choosing individual works from an audiences’ perspective, placing weight on the artistic quality of the program itself rather than just the big names involved. It still isn’t possible to get everybody into the show, but if someone really wants to be in Dance Chicago and we can make a deal, then it's very possible.
 

What are the challenges in producing an annual festival and what community support do you receive? 

Dance Chicago has been around for almost 13 years and Fred and I had both been in the industry for 10 years before that. I guess part of the challenge is trying to stay in the company of donors who can support our efforts without interrupting their donor relationships with individual dance companies. Among the challenges of donor relationships is that whenever there is a “changing of the guard” within a sponsor’s infrastructure—people changing positions, new executives, etc.—we have to present ourselves to them all over again; show them something new. It can be especially difficult if the people coming in don’t know anything about dance or Dance Chicago.  

Truthfully, the amount of money contributed to dance in Chicago is not proportional to the size of the city. Financial support is far lacking.  Since half of our continual income is from sponsorships and donations, these contributions are vital to the continuation and survival of Dance Chicago. “Survival” is a key word here because I don’t think people realize that Dance Chicago is a project with SCT Productions /Athenaeum Theater and Emergence Dance Theater. While Dance Chicago is established, the survival of this project is not guaranteed.   

Just imagine what the city would be like without Dance Chicago.  Some people can’t remember those days, but I remember exactly what it was like. There was a continued level of frustration and nasty competition between companies. Some dancers and choreographers had never collaborated or even spoken to other companies before this project existed. What Dance Chicago has done, more than provide a venue for dance audiences in the city, is create a space where dancers can look forward to seeing each other, working together, on the same stage, toward the same goal. Even if on some level there remains a sense of competition between companies or dancers, or whatever, it is a healthier one. Dance Chicago is not just an event in November; it is a state of mind for dancers in Chicago. The purpose of Dance Chicago was to give a voice and face to Chicago dance.
 

What do you think about the increase in the number and variety of dance festivals in Chicago? What does this do for the city? Are there any risks for artistry?

The old idea is that work has to come from New York or other places into Chicago to be legitimate. I am concerned that that old mode of thinking may come back—that dance in this city will continually be imported from outside. As glamorous as that may seem, support for those programs inevitably die out because there are special financial burdens to bringing in outside work year after year. Markets lose interest.  

On the other hand, dance festivals in general, like the recent Chicago Dancing Festival, are great for generating interest in dance in the city. Really, it is all good (although I wish someone had called to ask us about the name of that festival. It created a bit of market confusion).

There are all kinds of new fall dance festivals springing up that carry similar formats to ours as well; for example, in St. Louis and New York. It’s great…and a bit flattering. What I am trying to do with Dance Chicago, however, is simply to create an environment where local artists can produce their work; and moreover, to create an environment where audiences can be comfortable with everything from their seats, to ticket prices, to parking, to knowing that their program has been screened and scrutinized ahead of time—so that what they are about to see is indeed good work from good dancers.

What can we expect from Dance Chicago 2007?  

We have a new program in Dance Chicago this year called “Extended Views” which cultivates longer works from artists working with our Choreography program. This gives artists who perform with Dance Chicago an opportunity to curate, creating their own longer programs and shows for a larger audience.

Also this year, we created an award show in the memory of Chicago dance writer, critic, and historian, Ann Barzel, who passed away in February 2007 at the age of 101. Her reviews always emphasized the importance of dance as aesthetic entertainment. In paying homage to her idea that along with trying to teach audiences something, dance is about entertainment too, we are giving $1,000 in prize money to choreographers that produce the most entertaining piece. We’ll be including cabaret styles, comedy, and more, all things that she would’ve found interesting.

 Dance Chicago runs from November 2nd thru December 2, 2007

John Leonard Schmitz is the founder and Artistic Director of Dance Chicago. As such, he has managed the creative programming, curating, artistic decisions, and fundraising for Dance Chicago since 1995 when he founded the festival with Fred Solari.  He has been promoting alliances and collaborations between artists and dance organizations both nationally and internationally. With experience as a professional dancer, lighting designer and media artist, performer and producer, John has been producing inventive dance events for over 25 years. Locally he has managed Ballet Chicago, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, The Joel Hall Dancers, The Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, Rockford Dance Company, as well as Emergence Dance Theatre, who co-ventures with SCT Productions to produce Dance Chicago.

In 1995, he and Fred were honored as two of Chicago Tribune's “Chicagoans of the Year.” John's recent projects include the Dance Chicago Choreography Project, the International Exchange Program, Dance Link, the Choreographic Advancement Program, and the Best of Dance Chicago (local) and Stars of Dance Chicago (international) Tours. In 1998 John was honored with a Ruth Page Award for “Outstanding Contribution to the Dance Community.”  In 2006 John and Dance Chicago were honored with Columbia College’s “Arts Entrepreneurship of the Year” Award.