SJ Swilley will appear in the second weekend of Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival/Photo: William Frederking

The Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago is a semi-hidden gem just off the path of big-name performance venues in the Loop. Nestled in an unassuming campus building on South Michigan Avenue, the Dance Center’s black-box theater made this magazine’s best-of list (back when we did such things) year after year. With seating twelve rows deep and a stage footprint that matches the audience area, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. And the programming—informed by Columbia’s educational raison d’etre—embraces the infinite gamut of dance, all for a reasonable ticket price. Some of the most memorable performances I’ve seen in my near twenty years of covering dance in Chicago have taken place on the Dance Center stage. Experimental work, student and faculty showcases, nationally and internationally revered artists have all rarified the Dance Center’s air for half a century.

As part of its fiftieth season, the Dance Center is showcasing works by local choreographers in its new Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival, April 19–27. Weekend one features “Ethos IV,” the latest chapter in Ayako Kato’s poetic investigation of humanity as a part of nature. The performance begins at the Lakefront with music by the Oka Homma Singers and a water and soil ceremony by biologist Billie Warren, a Pokagon Band of Potawatomi member, then processes to the Dance Center stage. Weekend two features works in progress by Erin Kilmurray and her collaborator Kara Brody, SJ Swilley and J’Sun Howard.

We spoke with Meredith Sutton, artistic director of the dance presenting series, about the new event and the Dance Center’s enduring legacy, heading into its next fifty years.

Why did the Dance Center create this festival this year?

We were able to receive some great support from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events… Not that that’s the only reason.

It helps.

It does, but this was an opportunity for us to bring to the fore what’s happening with local artists. It’s important to continually underscore the plurality at the Dance Center and how that links to professional work happening in Chicago.

And there are so many great artists working in Chicago, how did you select the artists participating in this festival?

In part of our ongoing effort to stray away from a single, curatorial model, this was an opportunity for us to lean into the relevance of our broader community. We wanted to bring in student and faculty voices. It wasn’t just me making these decisions.

Tell me about that process.

This idea was birthed by our predecessor [Ellen Chenoweth] wanting to spotlight Chicago artists. We created a panel of students, those who support the presenting series. This was the foundation of how we’ve curated the fiftieth season in its entirety. That process happened through info sharing, where we would meet and have cultivated conversations about the artists we wanted to partner with. It was an interesting thing we tried out and we’re excited to continue.

Can you speak a little more about the program?

The first weekend will feature the final installation of Ayako Kato’s “Ethos” and is a hybrid experience: a site-specific offering that will activate the Montgomery Ward Gardens on the Lakefront and lead into the Dance Center. The following weekend is a full activation of the Dance Center with the works of J’Sun Howard, SJ Swilley and Erin Kilmurray and Kara Brody. Many facets of this building will be journeyed through, giving an alternate means of experiencing dance. We’re really excited about what that’s continuing to develop into.

Is there anything you’d like to say about this milestone anniversary for the Dance Center?

I think what makes this fiftieth season so important, is that it’s not only so important for us to reflect on the history and legacy of the Dance Center, but it allows us to continue to underscore what’s happening now in dance—how the Dance Center in theory and practice is rooted in pluralism, it is rooted in connection, it is rooted in the celebration of who we are as movement artists, contributors and supporters of this living, breathing form. This fiftieth anniversary is a celebration of that. We feel really honored to continue accelerating what’s happened at the Dance Center and continue to push it forward. We’re excited to have Spotlight be a part of that. The weaving of humanity and process and being through these artists means a lot.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

As always, we look forward to continuing to welcome people to join us. It’s a hallmark in our ability to share the full range of artistic innovation from the established to the experimental and the beyond.

Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival at the Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago, 1306 South Michigan. April 19-27. $50 festival two-week pass, $30 single ticket, free for Columbia College Chicago students. Tickets and info at dance.colum.edu.