company

Dance That Moves You
Zephyr Dance has been a strong presence in Chicago for over fifteen years, committed to artistic excellence in dance and to sharing that excellence with diverse audiences through performance and education. Zephyr’s work has been presented in Chicago at, the Dance Center of Columbia College, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, the Athenaeum Theater, the Duncan YMCA Chernin Center for the Arts, Links Hall, and the Beverly Arts Center. In addition, the company has presented work as part of Chicago’s Next Dance Festival and Dance Chicago.

Artistic director Michelle Kranicke founded Zephyr Dance in 1989. A spirited, vibrant company of women, Zephyr Dance offers audiences an eclectic and thought-provoking repertoire. Zephyr’s work has been described as having “a composer’s sense of form…dances that progress through episodes, rather like Bach fugues.” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Zephyr’s work is conceptual, metaphorical, and layered. Artistic Director Michelle Kranicke and Associate Artistic Director Emily Stein have developed decidedly unique and complimentary styles of movement that constantly endeavor to stretch the limits of the female body. Zephyr’s dances build from an idea that resonates on many levels—physical, emotional and intellectual. Zephyr Dance believes that movement is powerful communication—all movement, not just recognized steps. While dance requires athleticism and skill, it is not defined by, or limited to it. Zephyr strives to go beyond the familiar in dance to discover the unique and the sublime within each piece. Audiences and critics alike have described the work as “fascinating and authoritative” (New York Times), “evocatively structured” and “entrancing” (Chicago Tribune) and “remarkably subdued and elegant,” (Chicago Reader, Critic’s Choice)

Zephyr has been recognized for creating innovative programs to promote both artistic collaboration and audience development. Zephyr’s Dancing Across State Lines is an interstate exchange of regional dance companies designed to serve as a vital catalyst for creative growth and dialogue among artists in the Midwest. The company’s Stepping into a Dance: Open Rehearsal Series is a grassroots marketing campaign that invites individuals interested in learning more about dance and its creative process to follow a piece as it develops.

Zephyr Dance is an artistically exciting, technically assured dance company receiving rave reviews in both its hometown of Chicago, and throughout the United States, for its “knack for puncturing and partnering space,” (Lucia Mauro, Chicago Tribune) and its virtuosity as “an extremely tight company, powerful in their imagery” (Jay Rath, Wisconsin State Journal).