Dance for Life Marks 35 Years Raising Millions for Chicago

Chicago's Dance for Life celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, marking more than three decades of bringing the city's dance artists together on a single stage to fund critical medical care for their community.

The annual one-night-only performance has raised more than $8 million for the Chicago Dance Health Fund since its founding during the HIV/AIDS crisis. That origin still shapes the event's mission: dancers supporting dancers when medical need is greatest.

This year's edition takes place at the Auditorium Theatre on August 22. The lineup reads like a survey of Chicago's professional dance scene. Ballet 5:8, Chicago Dance Crash, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists, Trinity Irish Dance Company, and Visceral Dance Chicago will all perform. The program also includes a work by Jeremy Plummer and Harrison McEldowney.

The evening will honor Chicago native Randy Duncan, who has contributed choreography to the annual event since 1995. Duncan will also create the finale, which brings together dancers from every participating company — a fitting close for a benefit built on the idea of one dance community acting in concert.

Now in its fourth decade, Dance for Life continues to pair artistic breadth with a health-focused mission born of crisis. Whether the 35th-anniversary edition pushes the total raised past new milestones will be known after the curtain falls on August 22.