Free master classes on Friday May 25 as part of the City of Chicago’s huge Chicago House Music Festival, by instructors Czarina Mirani, Carlos Morris, Lyrik Cruz and Carlos Lanvin.
The City of Chicago is pulling all stops this year for the official inauguration of the Chicago House Music Festival.
On Memorial Day weekend, the festival will also be offering free dance classes on Friday, May 25th at its home base at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington).
Many styles of dance have flourished over the Disco and House years under the openness of freestyle. As time went on, certain dances morphed, evolved, gained specific followings, steps were named and codified, individual scenes grew out of these dances and continue to branch out.
In the last 15 years or so, House Dance became associated with a certain set of codified movements. Taking its influences from African, Tap, Latin dances and Capoeira to name a few, this style was nurtured particularly in New York City with clubs like the Shelter. Classes started being taught, and this particular style of House dance was disseminated all over the world by avid students. Now all major dance battles include a House category.
Another subsection that stemmed from as early as the 1960s was the art of Vogueing. Thanks to the seminal Vogue movie Paris is Burning, people got a taste of what ball culture was all about. A dance style originating in Harlem by the black queer community, its flamboyant gestures, model poses and dramatic spins and drops can now be seen in so many commercial dance videos and performances today.
A beginning House class will be taught by Fivestarboogie Dancers’ Czarina Mirani and Carlos Morris on Friday May 25 2018 from 4:00 to 4:45pm, while Lyrik Cruz and Carlos Lanvin will be teaching a Latin House and Vogue class from 4:45 to 6:00pm. All ages and levels of experience are welcome.
Following the class, there will be a festival kickoff party at 8pm at the Keith Haring Exhibition the 2nd floor of the Cultural Center. The dance instructors, as well as other members of Fivestarboogie, will be performing there as well as the following day at the Pritzker Pavilion Stage from 1:45-2:00pm.
You can RSVP for the free dance classes here.
The Chicago House Music Festival takes place over Memorial Day weekend 2018 and is a free series of events culminating in an all day music festival on May 26 2018. The Chicago House Music Festival is produced by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and sponsored by the Chicago Transit Authority. For more information, please visit ChicagoHouseMusicFestival.us.
