For the first time in its eighty-year history, the National Dance & Music Ensemble of Serbia is visiting the United States and making a Labor Day weekend stop in downtown Chicago. Founded in 1926 in the town of Krusevac by the workers in a small wagon factory who wanted to celebrate and perpetuate their Serbian folk heritage, today the 250-member ensemble is made up of industry workers from a variety of companies and Krusevac high-school students who perform throughout Europe with an orchestra of traditional Serbian instruments—including the button accordion, the frula, a type of recorder and the tamburica, a type of mouth organ—to which members dance spectacular Serbian folk dances such as the two-beat circle dance called the kolo in colorful, authentic Serbian costumes. (Dennis Polkow)
Sat/5pm, Harris Theater, 20 E. Randolph, (312)334-7777. $20.
Encouragement and Drive: A Preview of Dance for Life at the Auditorium Theatre “Dance for Life” is an annual concert that raises money for The Dancers’ Fund, which provides health care assistance for dancers and people who work in the dance field. But it also happens to be a beloved and joyful celebration of Chicago’s rich and abundant dance scene.
