THREE STYLES,
ONE ELECTRIFYING COMPANY

A vibrant program that moves
effortlessly from sensual modernism
to jazzy precision to kinetic abstraction

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Gnawa by Nacho Duato.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago returns to The Joyce Theater, bringing the springtime vibes we have all been craving. I caught Program A, and I can assure you it is a full-on, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it showcase of movement and flair (Program B plays March 31-April 5). It starts with a work of art: Nacho Duato’s Gnawa (2005), a dance characterized by its rhythmic intensity and Mediterranean sensuality. Set to the hypnotic song “Ma’bud Allah” by Hassan Hakmoun and Adam Rudolph, drawn from North African Gnawa traditions, it immediately whisks you to another world.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Gnawa by Nacho Duato.

Duato’s choreography is known for its smooth, visceral movement, and the dancers deliver it with remarkable control. Classical meets contemporary in grounded, organic motion, flowing in ever-changing patterns that hit both the eye and the gut. The ensemble work is mesmerizing: dancers move from communal cycles into mind-boggling solos, then duets, and back to being one moving organism, creating a flow that is both technically precise and emotionally magnetic.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Gnawa by Nacho Duato.

Lighting by Nicolás Fischtel adds an infinite depth that has a warm, water-like feeling, almost a “limbo” environment, while side-lighting from the wings sculpts the dancers’ bodies, emphasizing the precise lines their limbs form against the black negative space. Costumes by Modesto Lomba accentuate the movements with a fitting modern aesthetic. At the beginning, they almost disappear into the darkness, soaking up the light and allowing Duato to “erase” parts of the dancers’ bodies, only to pop back into view with gold-foil pants that make the light bounce off them like stage magic.

Aaron Choate, Cyrie Topete, and Dominick Brown in Sweet Gwen Suite by Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon.

Cyrie Topete in Sweet Gwen Suite by Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon.

The second piece needs a little introduction. As any devotee of the dance world knows, choreographer Bob Fosse met dancer Gwen Verdon on Damn Yankees in 1955, and they became the royal couple of jazz dance for decades—a match made in heaven. In 2021, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Artistic Director Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell reconstructed and expanded three of their choreographies originally created for television—Mexican Breakfast, Cool Hand Luke, and Mexican Shuffle—and reframed them within a contemporary ensemble structure called Sweet Gwen Suite, a complete switch from Gnawa.

Aaron Choate, Cyrie Topete, and Dominick Brown in Sweet Gwen Suite by Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon.

Choreographically, the piece maintains Fosse’s signature vocabulary, but the “trio format” transforms the dances into a system of communal precision. Each shoulder tick, hip swivel, or wrist circle is executed in exact unison, creating a visual architecture built on synchronization. The dancers are superb, acting while navigating not only the technical demands of Fosse’s vocabulary but the added complexity of ensemble synchronization. Their performance is playful, shameless, yet retains wit and elegance. They nail syncopation with effortless cool, with the kind of timing you cannot teach.

Aaron Choate, Cyrie Topete, and Dominick Brown in Sweet Gwen Suite by Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon.

Music by Herb Alpert, Johnny Mandel, and Lalo Schifrin is also playful, characterized by comedic accents, and it creates a layered call-and-response effect with the dancers’ movements. Costumes by Bobby Pearce evoke a stylized take on vaquería attire, with rhinestone detailing, gold embroidery, tailored silhouettes, bolero jackets, and flat-brimmed hats that function as choreographic tools. High-contrast lighting by Harrison Pearse-Pollack amplifies the theatricality using saturated colors, sharp contrasts, and sculptural illumination.

Aaron Choate, Cyrie Topete, and Dominick Brown in Sweet Gwen Suite by Bob Fosse & Gwen Verdon.

The program concludes with Aszure Barton’s Blue Soup, a dynamic piece known for its dramatic shapes and ensemble energy. Originally created in the early 2000s and revived by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2025, Barton’s choreography challenges the dancers with unusual spatial patterns and rhythmic twists, and the dancers rise to the challenge, culminating in a finale that pleases the eye and lifts the pulse. The music spans from Angelo Badalamenti to Randy Newman, with detours through Maya Angelou and Trevor Horn and many other composers—a global soundscape that matches Barton’s rhythmically adaptive choreography. The dancers stay razor-aware of the music, letting accents, tonal nuances, and subtle shifts dictate each initiation, pause, and transition. The visually striking electric-blue costumes by Rémi von Bochove, after Fritz Masten, abandon traditional dance lines, reshaping the oversized business suit into something built for speed and motion. Burke Brown’s lighting design floods the stage with a heavy primary blue wash, bringing out the dual focus on ensemble cohesion and individual detail.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Blue Soup by Aszure Barton.

The company’s ability to transition seamlessly between modern work, jazz, and highly kinetic contemporary choreography demonstrates its unique versatility and cohesion. I wish I could single out each dancer, but it would take far too long because every one of them delivered work worthy of individual praise. Kyle Anders, Alexandria Best, Dominick Brown, Jacqueline Burnett, Aaron Choate, Morgan Clune, Michele Dooley, Elliot Hammans, Bianca Melidor, Shota Miyoshi, Andrew Murdock, David Schultz, Simone Stevens, and Cyrie Topete are all remarkable dancers—bravissimi! Go see it even if you do not fancy contemporary dance, because this performance at The Joyce will linger in your mind well beyond the final bow.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in Blue Soup by Aszure Barton.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

photos by Michelle Reid (Gnawa),
KT Miller Photography (Sweet Gwen Suite)
Michelle Reid (Blue Soup)

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Program A
The Joyce Theater, Tino & Rajika Puri Auditorium
175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street
95 minutes, including one intermission
reviewed on March 24 at 7:30pm
Tue–Fri 7:30pm; Sat 2pm & 7:30pm; Sun 2pm
for tickets ($17–$62), call 212.242.0800 or visit Joyce.org

Program B / Week Two
March 31–April 5
Within the Frame by James Gregg
Percussion IV by Bob Fosse
Beauty Chasers by Matthew Rushing
Blue Soup by Aszure Barton

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦