2020 Dance Community Celebration: Moving Forward celebrates Chicago’s thriving dance community and honors two individuals who have been important to its success. Joel Hall, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Joel Hall Dancers & Center, will receive the Legacy Award recognizing his artistic leadership and community impact; and Gail Kalver, former Executive Director of
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and River North Dance Chicago and currently a consultant to local dance organizations, will receive the Distinguished Service to the Dance Field Award in recognition of her leadership in and commitment to Chicago’s dance sector.
(Left to right) 2020 Distinguished Service to the Dance Field Award Recipient Gail Kalver (photo by Jennifer Girard). 2020 Legacy Award Recipient Joel Hall (photo by Jennifer Girard).
“It is such an honor for SCD to be recognizing Gail and Joel in this way,” said Julia Mayer, Executive Director of See Chicago Dance. “They are two extraordinary, dedicated people that, in different ways, have changed the face of dance in Chicago during their long careers. Younger artists today, whether they know it or not, benefit from the groundbreaking work they both did.”
SCD’s Board of Directors hosts two live virtual events, a Happy Hour on October 6, and Finale Celebration and Awards Presentation on October 27, with Lou Conte and Jacqueline Sinclair serving as Co-Chairs.
The virtual Happy Hour on October 6, 2020 from 6:00–7:00PM Central Time is an opportunity for Joel Hall and Gail Kalver to share personal reflections on their long and storied careers. Attendees will be able to join in the storytelling. There will also be an announcement about an exciting matching grant during this virtual event! Click here to RSVP (RSVP required).
The virtual Finale Celebration on October 27, 2020 from 7:00–8:00PM Central Time features an awards presentation to these two luminaries of the Chicago dance community: the Legacy Award to Joel Hall and the Distinguished Service to the Dance Field Award to Gail Kalver.
Click here to RSVP (RSVP required).
In addition, new videos will be released on SeeChicagoDance.com and via SCD’s social media channels each week, highlighting the many programs and services that SCD provides to the dance community. All videos may also be found here.
All donations received during the Moving Forward campaign will support See Chicago Dance's mission to advocate for the dance field and strengthen a diverse range of dance organizations and artists through services and programs that build and engage audiences. With our community-focused programming for and support to dance artists and dance companies of all budget sizes, dance styles, and points of view, SCD strives for equity, promoting access to dance for Chicago audiences that is welcoming to everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status. In these difficult times, every donation helps SCD keep moving forward.
See Chicago Dance’s 2020 Dance Community Celebration: Moving Forward, September 8–October 27, 2020. Virtual Happy Hour on October 6 at 6:00PM Central Time via Zoom. Virtual Finale and Awards Presentation on October 27 at 7:00PM Central Time via Zoom. Videos, event registrations, and donation form available now at seechicagodance.com/scdgala.
The Legacy Award is underwritten by Pamela Crutchfield and the Distinguished Service to the Dance Field Award is underwritten by The Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust.
About the Award Recipients
Joel Hall, a native of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood, established and co-founded the Chicago City Theatre Company in 1974. This unique performing arts organization included the theatre company; a professional concert dance company, Joel Hall Dancers; and a training facility, the Joel Hall Dancers & Center. Hall was the artistic director and primary choreographer for his dance company and the chief dance instructor for the training studio.
During the past 45+ years, Hall has achieved an international reputation for his dance company and acclaim as a choreographer whose work — in his own unique style — is based in jazz, and expresses a rich vocabulary embracing both the classical and modern dance idioms. Dance Magazine said it was “jazz dance at its best.” Mr. Hall also served as Mayor Harold Washington’s International Ambassador for the Arts.
In 1993, Mr. Hall was inducted into the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame. He is also the recipient of the "Black and Hispanic Achiever of the Year Award" from the Metropolitan YMCA of Chicago, the "Lifetime Achievement for Service to the Field" award from the Chicago Dance & Music Alliance, and a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Jazz Dance World Congress. In November 2014, he was honored with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the African American Arts Alliance. Joel Hall is also profiled in The HistoryMakers series online — and in 2014 his HistoryMakers interview was officially archived by the Library of Congress.
Gail Kalver has been an arts management professional for 50 years, having served as Executive Director of River North Dance Chicago (2009–2014) and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (1984–2007). Previously, she served as Associate Manager and Dance Programmer of the Ravinia Festival (1976–1983). Gail was an active freelance clarinetist in Chicago prior to her arts management work, performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera Orchestra, and Grant Park Symphony, in addition to an active performing schedule with her own woodwind ensemble, The Windy City Wind Ensemble.
In 2014, Kalver established Gail Kalver Arts Management and is a consultant and project manager, whose diverse client roster has included the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, Ballet Chicago, Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s STOMPING GROUNDS, Concert Dance, Inc., Dance Affiliates of Philadelphia, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, The Grant Park Music Festival, and the 2007 inaugural Chicago Dancing Festival.
Kalver is the recipient of the 1988 Ruth Page Award for Service to the Field, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s 2003 ABBY Award for Arts Management Excellence, and the 2007 Ruth Page Award for Lifetime Service. She was also recognized by Today’s Chicago Woman as one of 100 women making a difference in Chicago.
About See Chicago Dance
See Chicago Dance (SCD), founded as the nonprofit Audience Architects in 2006, is a dance service organization with a mission to advocate for the dance field and strengthen a diverse range of dance organizations and artists through services and programs that build and engage audiences. SCD provides Chicago dance organizations and artists with increased visibility, expansive resources, and forums to showcase and share their talents. Its flagship program, the audience development website SeeChicagoDance.com, drives ticket sales and has grown to become the most comprehensive source of information on dance in Chicago, offering feature stories and reviews, discount ticket offers, and in-depth information on more than 200 dance companies and organizations.
In 2020, SCD has shifted programming due to the global pandemic, with a month-long series of virtual workshops focused on dancer health (physical, mental, and financial), socially-distant and masked outdoor performances in partnership with Navy Pier, and a critical dance writing fellowship in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand–The ARTchive (Johannesburg, South Africa), and the University of East London (London, UK).
Programs of See Chicago Dance are made possible with the support of Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, PERT Foundation, and numerous individual donors.
For more information, visit SeeChicagoDance.com.