Preview: Summer Series/Hubbard Street Dance

Jonathan Fredrickson and Ana Lopez rehearsing for "The Impossible"

Jonathan Fredrickson and Ana Lopez in rehearsal for “The Impossible”

RECOMMENDED

Hubbard Street closes out their season on the big screen, with a Friday night simulcast to a forty-foot LED screen in Millennium Park. The free seats may be some of the best ones, allowing you to catch a reprise of Jiri Kylian’s “Falling Angels,” which the company premiered in the winter, and two pieces by resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo: “PACOPEPEPLUTO,” a charming, witty work for three soloists set to Dean Martin tunes, and a new piece entitled “The Impossible.” Cerrudo’s new work is a return to narrative choreography; an elderly couple is mirrored by their younger selves and haunted by a ghostly band, lead by a mysterious, menacing, somewhat lecherous puppetmaster. The music is big and suspenseful, edited together (as always) by the choreographer. Cerrudo is skilled at invoking specific moods with abstract movement; it’s fun to see him apply this talent to distinct characters. Too bad William Forsythe’s “Quintett” isn’t on the Friday night program, too—the precision and technical detail of Forsythe’s piece, which takes classical technique into hyperextension, would be fascinating to watch on twenty-five-foot-tall dancers—but you’ll need to buy tickets for Thursday, Saturday or Sunday to catch it. Happily, Nacho Duato’s “Gnawa” is part of all programs: a joyous, tribal, rippling piece created for Hubbard Street nine years ago, inspired by the music of North Africa and the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Dancers can’t help but smile while performing “Gnawa,” you’ll likely do the same. (Sharon Hoyer)

Hubbard Street Dance at the Harris Theater, 205 East Randolph, (312)850-9744. Thursday-Sunday, June 5-8. $25-$99. Simulcast in Pritzker Pavilion is Friday at 7:30pm.

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