THE A-TEAM Standing, from left: Matthew Harvat, Chris Nasadwoski, Wilfredo Rivera and Todd Kiech. Seated: Ken Gasch, left, and Chris McCray.
Photo: Erica Gannett
We had fun in the TOC offices last week. A handsome handful of the city’s most charming male dance artists stopped by to chat about the Atlas Agenda, the newest addition to Chicago’s annual roster of dance festivals, opening Friday 5.
Ken Gasch, a dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Second Floor Dance, told us it all began in 2003 when he attended a performance at the Estrogen Fest, the theater and dance festival that focuses on female artists of diverse backgrounds. “It was a lot about female issues—but when I look around in the dance world, I see that women dominate the field anyway. We [men] are the minority [in dance].”
Chris McCray, choreographer and director of Corpo Dance Company, says “In ballet, a lot of times the men are just props. They’re just there to throw the girl, to catch the girl.” Not exactly inspiring for a talented man whose powerful technique and joy in motion deserve center stage.
Then there’s the issue of quotas: It’s common knowledge that choreographers will hire a poorly skilled male dancer over a highly skilled female, simply because they need a man to do a certain role. This can make the women resentful, but Chris Nasadowski, a hip-hop dancer and choreographer who teaches at the Beverly Arts Center, says it’s a bummer for the men, too. “You want to be chosen because you can really dance, not just because you’re a guy,” he says. McCray agrees that it creates an uncomfortable dynamic. “You hear people saying, ‘His technique isn’t as good [as the women he’s dancing with].’ Then you’re proving yourself,” he says.
Mulling over these and other issues that male dance artists face, including the homophobia that keeps boys out of dance studios to begin with, Gasch decided a celebration of male creativity in dance was in order. The idea grew wings, although somewhat dizzy ones, during a late-night drinking session. “We joked about calling our festival ‘Testosterama,’ ” McCray says. “But after sobering up the next day, the idea of the festival was still a good one.” Thus, the Atlas Agenda was born, with a mission to create a platform for male choreographers in Chicago.
Gasch and McCray brought the resources of their two Chicago-based organizations together, and suddenly the ball was rolling. “We started planning in March [2008],” McCray says. “Everything started to fall into place. Corpo already had a booking at Ruth Page [Center for the Arts] for a project we decided not to do, so we could use the venue for Atlas.”
They’ve managed to assemble a lineup that represents a wide range of perspectives, from Todd Kiech’s ode to male pride and vanity (an all-male septet to Ravel’s Boléro) to Wilfredo Rivera’s Golden Birdcage, which expresses the suffering of Latino immigrants in the U.S. “All of a sudden we started meeting people who wanted to participate,” Gasch says. Also in the mix is Derek Rusch’s 1963, a portrait of a struggling interracial relationship, danced by a man and a woman; and a new work by Nasadowski exploring musical nuance in hip-hop.
“Just because it’s choreography by guys doesn’t mean it’s going to be rough and aggressive,” McCray says. “It can be softer; it can be funny.” On the other hand, says Kiech, “We’re not a bunch of screaming queens doing Madonna remixes, either.”
The Atlas Agenda flexes its muscles at the Ruth Page Center this weekend and next.