The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs is once again presenting Chicago SummerDance this summer at the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park, which morphs into a glorious dance floor each Thursday through Sunday from June 17 to August 29. The summer-long event boasts forty-two different live bands playing swing, waltz, salsa, cha-cha, and more for locals and visitors. Last year, over 100,000 people attended and participated in the Chicago SummerDance festival, making it the largest festival of its kind in the United States.
Each night of the eleven-week festival offers a complimentary introductory one-hour dance lesson by professional instructors followed by two hours of live music and dancing on a 4,600 square-foot, open-air dance floor created out of 100% recycled materials by artist Dan Peterman. The dance floor is located in the Spirit of Music Garden in Grant Park, at 601 S. Michigan Avenue. Among the various classes offered this summer are Swing, Mambo, Steppin', Salsa, Bhangra, the Argentine Tango, and the Jitterbug. Many of the dance styles offered come from different cultures all over the world, so you not only get schooled in dance - you're also getting enriched in various cultures.
Last Thursday's event hosted Middle Eastern Bellydance taught by Erika Ochoa with live music by Omar Souleyman, a Syrian Street-Level Folk-Pop and Dabke band. The park was charged with an energetic crowd eager to shake and shimmy. One of the night's students, Alex Mach, a 22 year-old from Darien came out to dance with a group of friends and answered some questions about his experience there.
Examiner: "What motivated you to check out the Grant Park Summer Dance Series?"
Alex: "I decided to take the dance classes at Grant Park as a fun way to spend time with my friends. We made the dance class into a group activity where we could all spend quality time with each other while simultaneously exercising and having a little fun."
Examiner: "Was it what you expected? Why or why not?"
Alex: "The belly dancing class was pretty much what I expected going into the class. There were a lot of participants in the free class and everyone was primarily there just to have fun. There was a lot of laughter and lightheartedness in the crowd of participating dancers."
Examiner: "What did you enjoy most in the experience?"
Alex: "What I enjoyed most tonight was that it provided my friends and I with an enjoyable bonding experience. It was easy, interactive, and a great activity for the summer."
Examiner: "Was there anything you did not enjoy about the experience?"
Alex: "The one thing that wasn't enjoyable was that it was a bit hard to see the stage in some areas, and thus, made it harder to follow along to the teacher."
Examiner: "On a scale of one to five, five being the most challenging, how challenging would you say the dance instruction was for you?"
Alex: "Three - not too bad but I wouldn't say I'm exactly the type of body that was made for belly dancing."
Examiner: "On as scale of one to five, five being the most effective, how effective of a workout would you say the lesson was for you?"
Alex: "Three - it was a good ab workout."
Examiner: "On a scale of one to five, five being the most fun, how fun would you say the experience was for you?
Alex: "Four - we all had a really great time."
Examiner: "Would you do it again?"
Alex: "Of course I would do it again. It was a great time."
Chicago SummerDance events are held every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening from 6 to 9:30 p.m., and on each Sunday afternoon from 4 to 7 p.m., weather permitting. Updates and announcements are available at the SummerDance Hotline at 312-742-4007, on ChicagoSummerDance.org, on Facebook at Chicago SummerDance, or on Twitter at SummerDance2010.
Comments