Hubbard Avenue Dance Chicago’s fall season opener options dances by Lar Lubovitch, Kyle Abraham, resident choreographer Aszure Barton—and Bob Fosse. Sure, that Bob Fosse. The corporate premiere of Candy Gwen Suite, by Fosse and his muse, Gwen Verdon, takes place November 15–24 at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Firm.
It’s a primary for the Verdon Fosse Legacy, which licenses works by Fosse and Verdon. Candy Gwen Suite is the primary piece within the group’s 11-year historical past to be accepted right into a dance firm’s repertoire—nevertheless it’s not the one Fosse piece in Hubbard Avenue’s rep. In 1991, Verdon staged Fosse’s Percussion 4 on the corporate—which occurs to line up with present inventive director Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell’s temporary time as a Hubbard Avenue dancer. “I bought the consideration of working with Gwen,” says Fisher-Harrell. “She was candy. She was variety—however very particular.”
Hubbard Avenue founding director Lou Conte idolized Fosse, however the 47-year-old firm has solely just lately begun to faucet again into its jazzy roots. Conte’s signature works have been revived for the fortieth anniversary; so was Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Part, set on Hubbard Avenue the identical yr as Percussion 4. Since her appointment in 2021, Fisher-Harrell has been specializing in including well-rounded dancers with eclectic backgrounds, leading to a roster that features extra dancers with in depth jazz coaching. She’s additionally expanded the repertoire with new works by Rennie Harris, Maria Torres, and Darrell Grand Moultrie whereas preserving linked to the Euro-contemporary aesthetic of Hubbard Avenue’s current previous. “This is part of who we’re,” says Fisher-Harrell. “In the event you’re right here for Johan Inger, we do that, too. And we’ve been doing this since 1977. It’s actually part of our DNA.”
Candy Gwen Suite on Hubbard Avenue Dance Chicago for the Verdon Fosse Legacy. Photograph by Michelle Reid, courtesy Hubbard Avenue Dance Chicago.
However even probably the most versatile dancer goes to battle with Fosse’s extremely stylized motion. Former Fosse assistant Linda Haberman, who directed the Rockettes for almost a decade, was chosen to stage Candy Gwen Suite on Hubbard Avenue. The schedule had time inbuilt for workshopping the tiniest of particulars. “The particular factor about Fosse’s work is the aesthetic,” says Fisher-Harrell. “How the hat is grabbed. How the hat is worn. All of these issues are actually what the work is about.”
Fisher-Harrell says the Verdon Fosse Legacy, based and directed by Fosse and Verdon’s daughter, Nicole Fosse, has had its eye on Hubbard Avenue for the reason that starting. And with the 2023 Broadway revival of Bob Fosse’s DANCIN’ now closed and preparations underway for Fosse’s centennial in 2027, the timing was proper.
“They’ve actually been searching for a repertory firm that may tackle the Fosse works with a sure excellence and integrity,” says Fisher-Harrell.
Works, plural?
“Issues might be taking place,” she says.
