Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre in “WEALTHcare: an episode”/Photo: A.Deran Photography
Humor comes naturally to Kelly Anderson. “It’s part of the fabric of who I am,” she says. Anderson grew up in Wisconsin, raised by a family that holds an annual variety show on their potato farm. “There’s a theme, my great aunt is out there in an Oscars dress holding a golden potato. It’s so weird! My family is so weird!” She laughs. “That kind of encouragement gave me space to be funny on stage.”
Anderson’s sense of humor characterizes the work of the company bearing her name, which returns to Chicago with a new piece February 21-23 at Color Club, part of a mixed bill with Project Bound Dance. It’s Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre’s first production in Chicago since the start of the pandemic when Anderson relocated to Door County. But Anderson didn’t sit out theater closures. From her new home, she founded and pretty much single-handedly ran the Death’s Door Dance Festival, a weekend of free, largely outdoor performances by artists and companies from across the region, centered in Sister Bay. The festival is on pause while Anderson looks for sustainable funding sources.
Anderson moved to Milwaukee about a year ago, putting her within commuting distance to her Chicago-based company. They have been working on what will become a series on the trials of navigating the healthcare system. The first episode, which will premiere at Color Club, was in the works long before Luigi Mangione allegedly shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York in broad daylight, igniting a tinderbox of national frustration at the warped and maddening American system of medical insurance. But oh, the timing.
“I said to my dancers, ‘Uh-oh. I make work that’s funny,’” Anderson recalls. “Being alone in the studio and working with the material, [the shooting] shifted a few things in it that are a little more raw than a cheesy satire.” But Anderson notes that the piece, entitled “WEALTHcare: an episode” focuses on the individual experience—not the massive complexities and ills of the industry as a whole—starting with Anderson’s own story.
“I’m a lifelong epileptic who has had her share of struggles with the system, especially as an artist,” she says. When Anderson was in her late twenties, she was told that she was medication-intolerant. She took research into her own hands and ultimately found medication that got her epilepsy under control—medication she says she will be reliant on for the rest of her life. In a more recent struggle, Anderson was uninsured for a month and, as someone reliant on continued care, spent weeks in a Kafkaesque maze of calls to COBRA and other providers.
“But I’m not alone. Everyone has similar struggles in healthcare,” she says. “I thought it would be interesting to feature different autobiographies in this. No dance piece will solve the healthcare crisis, but I can at least share my story and other people’s stories.”
“WEALTHcare” appears alongside three short works by Project Bound Dance in a program entitled “Side Effects & Smoking Meat.” “A Theory On Staying” by Project Bound co-founder Emily Loar touches on themes of developing sexual identity; her “Faded Billboards (Relatable)” delves into mental health and neurodivergence. Loar and co-founder Ashley Deran’s “Smoking Meat” explores notions of safety, informed by “punk and metal scenes, gym culture, professional wrestling and fighting communities; fantasy and live action role-playing spaces; high fashion; and beauty pageants.” After the Chicago run, the program will play March 8 and 9 at Danceworks Studio Theater in Milwaukee.
Color Club is a fitting spot for the program and especially Anderson’s work. The unassuming two-story brick building on Elston hosts an eclectic mix of performances, concerts, classes and events, from LGBTQ+ country western dance nights to Argentine tango milongas to Jazzercise classes to stand-up comedy. Last summer, a door on the first floor transformed into the Sugar Hole: a walk-up window ice cream shop staffed by puppets. At Color Club, whimsy is in plentiful supply.
Anderson is gifted at deploying whimsy at weighty topics—take her 2015 “Vaudeville!” featuring a musical number with bathing beauties singing a lilting waltz about growing fins in response to climate change (“Glo-bal warming/It’s hot!/Glo-bal warming/It’s not cool”). “Some people might think comedic dance works are hokey or don’t push the limits enough,” she says. “But I feel the greatest strength of my work is it brings in a diverse group of people. And it creates conversation. People who don’t see a lot of dance come to my work and feel they were brought in. And they talk about it.”
Kelly Anderson Dance Theatre and Project Bound Dance “Side Effects & Smoking Meat” at Color Club, 4146 North Elston. February 21-23, Friday & Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 6pm. Tickets start at $25 at secure.qgiv.com.
