Chicago Summer Concerts, Events, Festivals, and More for 2023 (Updated 7/17/23)

Chicago abounds with exciting activities, concerts, exhibitions, and more. Here are some ideas to make sure your summer is filled with art and music!

Music for the Ballet

Beloved, magical and dramatic Latin American works for dance.

Auditorium Theatre Brings Malkovich, Blanchard, Dance Riches in 2023-24 Season

Special events, dance, and more are on deck for the Auditorium.

Playlist: Classical Fire and Flames

The Great Chicago Fire began on October 8, 1871. Here’s some music that takes inspiration from flames.

Playlist: Classical Music To Dance To

This ain’t your average classical music dance playlist: dance along to new pieces, old grooves, treasured tangos, and winsome waltzes.

Ukrainian, Russian refugee dancers find help in Berlin

Dancers who have fled Ukraine — and Russia — due to the war have found a new temporary home in Berlin’s top ballet company, which helps with practice space, housing, even shoes.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Art: Music, Dance, Poetry, and more

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. day, we’ve compiled an assortment of multimedia tributes — music, visual arts, poetry, and dance — to the monumental Civil Rights leader.

Cuba’s danzón genre: ‘150 years later, it’s still alive.’

The danzón was scandalous in some circles but it eventually became the national dance of Cuba and spread to other countries in the region.

A Walking Tour of 12 LGBTQ+ Artists Whose Legacies Are on Display in Chicago

In the Lakeview Neighborhood, the Legacy Walk, a series of ten 25-foot pylons, recognizes influential figures across genders, races, and fields.

Joffrey Announces 2021-22 Season In First Year At Lyric

From The Nutcracker to Don Quixote be the first to learn about what the Joffrey Ballet’s next season has in store!

Playlist: This Music Has Kept Joffrey Dancers Active and Inspired in the Pandemic

With this month’s Boléro, a digital-only world premiere set to the piece of the same name by Ravel, Joffrey dancers are finally back to performing together.

Watch Third Coast Percussion Perform Mesmeric Music by Devonté Hynes

The Grammy-winning ensemble performed music by Devonté Hynes from their new album, Fields.

Voguing Meets Classical in Stunning New Music Video

Music and motion come together beautifully in a new video featuring dancers Jason Rodriguez and José Lapaz Rodriguez and set to music by pianist and composer Chad Lawson.

No 2020 ‘Nutcracker’ as Joffrey Ballet Cancels Performances Through December

Today, the Joffrey Ballet announced cancellations through December 2020 in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

Deaf Hip-Hop Dancer is Moved by Beethoven’s 5th in New Music Video

With beautiful images and stunning dancing, this video reminds us that not everyone engages with music the same way.

Joffrey Ballet Announces 2020-21 Season

A year of milestones, the upcoming season marks Joffrey’s 65th season, its 25th in Chicago, the five-year anniversary of its reimagined Nutcracker, and its inaugural season at Lyric Opera House.

Odysseys of Movement, Music in Joffrey Program

Culminating in “The Times Are Racing” by choreographer Justin Peck, Joffrey’s mixed-rep program features “ballet, contemporary, comic, and a ‘sneaker ballet,’” artistic director Ashley Wheater describes.

Harris Theater Announces 2020-2021 Season

This morning, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance announced its 2020-2021 season. The season which runs from August 19, 2020, to May 6, 2021, features 36 performances including vocal recitals, symphonic concerts, and ballet performances. The season’s lineup of vocal concerts includes performances by acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who will perform music from her …

Discover What Makes Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker’ Sound Like Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Conductor Scott Speck, who leads the Chicago Philharmonic for performances of The Nutcracker with Joffrey Ballet, explained what makes Tchaikovsky’s score as addictive as your favorite holiday treats.

Quiz: What Movement of ‘The Nutcracker Suite’ Are You?

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker isn’t just a popular holiday ballet. The composer grouped eight pieces in his Nutcracker Suite, which is often performed in concert. But, which movement of the “Nutcracker Suite” are you? Are you the “Spanish Dance?” “The Waltz of the Flowers?” Take the quiz and find out!

Exploring Chords: “Appalachian Spring”

From its premiere more than 75 years ago, this music and ballet continue to speak to the American soul. Dive into the score of Appalachian Spring with Bill McGlaughlin.

Choreographer Cathy Marston and the Joffrey Ballet Take ‘Jane Eyre’ From Page To Stage

To conceal that the book’s author was a woman, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was first published in 1847 under a pen name. Choreographer Cathy Marston feels the book was revolutionary: “It truly was groundbreaking for a woman to write about her emotions and station in life with such honesty.”

Digital Pina Bausch Archive Announced

Pina Bausch studied with Antony Tudor, José Limón, Alfredo Corvino, and Paul Taylor, before joining the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company and the New American Ballet.

3 Fresh Musical Events for Your Weekend!

We’re getting ready to share our Summer Music Guide (keep an eye out for it next week), but here are three events happening this weekend, each of which combine or reimagine classical music and dance, that we wanted to be sure to tell you about. The Rosina Project It’s Rossini like you’ve never heard him before. Chicago Fringe Opera teams …

Studs waltzes along with the Newberry Library’s latest dance exhibit

Studs Terkel was known for a lot of things-his Pulitzer Prize-winning oral histories, his seemingly boundless appetite for life, and even his penchant for cigars. One of Studs’ less well-remembered legacies, however, is his tremendous admiration for the art of dance.

1 2 3