CRB celebrates 10 years with 3 world premieres

In just a few short weeks, Chicago Repertory Ballet will take the stage at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture to present “Ten: celebrating 10 years of CRB”. One of the most exciting features of this performance will be the three world premiere works from three varying choreographers on the bill. Here’s a sneak peek at each of these exciting new dances!

Transcending Quiet by Kia Smith

This beautiful Pas de Deux by Kia Smith (South Chicago Dance Theater) is a study in texture and tone with classical ballet partnering colliding into gestural dance phrases and emotional tension to a unique contemporary score. Over the 7 minute dance we see the couple snake through one another’s negative space creating a feeling of simultaneous separation and connectedness. This duet is not to be missed!

Birthday Fête by Wade Schaaf

Birthday Fête is an abstract ballet choreographed in the Neo-Classical style celebrating Chicago Repertory Ballet’s 10 year anniversary. This dance is a romp for 8 dancers to Mendelssohn as they joyously leap and turn through the space in celebration. The adjacent clip features ensemble member Eliza Weekley in her turns á manège from Birthday Fête.

Hunter’s Moon by Mike Tyus

Based around the movements, behaviors and physicality of wolves in the wild, Hunter’s Moon is a thrilling contemporary dance for the full company choreographed by Mike Tyus of LA. In this work dancers hunt and stalk as group phrases give way to partnerships and solo material with Mike’s unique choreographic style.

“TEN” runs April 1, 2, 3 at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture at 7:30pm, 7:30pm and 2pm respectively. Tickets are available online or by phone at the box office.

Meet Nicholas

Nicholas Hittle is currently a freelance dancing artist in Chicago, IL. He recently received a BA in Dance and a BS in Liberal Arts and Sciences for Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before studying with the Dance at Illinois, he has studied under Deanna Doty and other teachers at the Champaign Ballet Academy (CBA) along with the San Francisco Ballet School, mainly focusing on the Vaganova style Ballet technique. While at the University of Illinois, Hittle has studied in multiple disciplines under the instruction of Dance faculty including Jan Erkert, Abby Zbikowski, Dr. Cynthia Oliver, and Linda Lehovic, Dr. Kemal Nance, Endalyn Taylor and Tere O’Connor. In addition to performing Hittle also works as a choreographer. Some choreographic credits include his self-choreographed solo, vinyl historia, as part of Dance at Illinois’ Studio Dance 2 program, the Choreographer for a student-written musical Amongst the Clouds, the Assistant Choreographer of Illini Student Musicals’ production of Carrie, and the Choreographer of their production of A Chorus Line.

Meet Marco

Marco Clemente began his dance training at Ruth Page under the directorship of Larry Long and Dolores Lipinski-Long. Upon graduation he went on to dance for Dayton Ballet, Minnesota Ballet, Ballet Nebraska, and South Chicago Dance Theatre. He is extremely happy to be part of Chicago Repertory Ballet's 10th anniversary.

Meet Savannah

Born and raised in Oak Park Illinois, Savannah Slaten started ballet at just three years old. She started at her local park district but found her home at Légere Dance Center. She trained there for 12 years in ballet, pointe, contemporary, Graham, jazz, and tap, and performed in Ballet Légere’s Nutcracker for 11 years. Savannah is a Cecchetti-trained ballet dancer and has passed seven student exams. This is her first season with Chicago Repertory Ballet and her first professional endeavor. She is excited to learn what it’s like to be a professional dancer, and to grow with all the company members.

Chicago's homegrown ballet company celebrates a decade with "TEN".

After two years of economic downturn from America’s “great recession” and two more years of economic uncertainty 2012 was not the ideal climate in which to start a ballet company. What about the investors? What about the budget? What about sustainability?

But what about the passion? But what about the art?


These were the questions on Wade Schaaf’s mind. After ending an 11 year professional performing career that took them from Europe, to ballet companies around the country and back to Chicago Wade was ready for the next artistic step in their life. Economics aside Wade knew that if they were to do something big, the first step was to focus on the art. 

And so it was. Challenge and circumstance aside, Chicago Repertory Ballet was born. 

This Spring marks the ten year anniversary of Chicago’s homegrown contemporary ballet company touting the tagline ‘dance that defies labels’. Since 2012 CRB has produced an immense breadth of work from their well known one act ballets like “The Four Seasons” and “The Rite of Spring” to Schaaf’s critically acclaimed evening length work “Macbeth” all of which have been performed in Chicago and around the country. 

We caught up with Wade and asked about this decade long journey: “As trite as it may sound running a company has truly been a rollercoaster. There have been mountain top experiences and those performance moments of sublime perfection as well as experiences that made me question everything. Running this company has been not only one of the most challenging experiences of my life, full of immense learning, but also one of the most rewarding. To see this little peanut of an idea grow into a highly successful organization that employs dancers, choreographers and designers from around the country has meant so much to me. I can’t wait for the next ten years!”.

In celebration of this milestone, Schaaf has engineered a Spring performance series chalk full of exciting works for both CRB fans and people who will experience the company for the first time. Dance lovers will be in for a real treat with three world premiere works on the program: a neo-classical ballet from Schaaf, a new Pas de Deux from Kia Smith of South Chicago Dance Theater and a new work from LA choreographer Mike Tyus. “The audience will be taken on a real journey with a concert which will range in style and emotional content.” said Schaaf. In celebration of CRB’s past, the company will reprise favorite dances “The Four Seasons” (in an excerpted format) and “Grand Pianola Music”.

“Mostly I’m just excited to have folks who have performed with the company and fans who have been on this journey with us in attendance in April.” said Schaaf.

Chicago Repertory Ballet will perform “TEN: celebrating 10 years of CRB” at the Atheneum Center for Thought and Culture April 1, 2, and 3 at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday and 2:00pm on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased on CRB’s site at www.crb.dance or you can contact the Athenaeum box office. Group rates and senior discounts available. 


Meet Lydia

Lydia Hubacher began dancing in her hometown of Columbus, OH. She then earned a BFA in Ballet Performance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, performing such works as Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, David Hochoy’s Iconoglass, and many classics. She also staged original choreography for CCM’s Student Choreography Showcase. Since graduation, Lydia has worked with the likes of New Dialect, Salt Contemporary Dance Company, and Vim Vigor. This is her first season with CRB, and she could not be more thrilled!

Meet Vernon

Vernon D. Gooden, a Dallas,Texas native, is an emerging choreographer, performer, and teacher now residing in Chicago, IL. Mr. Gooden began dancing at the age of 11. As a 2001 graduate of the acclaimed Booker T. Washington High School For The Performing Visual Arts. He received a Level I ranking by the National Foundation For The Advancement In The Arts for college scholarship for high school seniors. Mr. Gooden later was nominated by NFAA  and was named by The White House Commission a 2001 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Mr. Gooden later trained at The Juilliard School under the direction of the late Benjamin Harkarvy and Larry Rhodes.  He have performed with noted companies such as Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, Joel Hall and Dancers, Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, and Winifred Haun & Dancers. He has performed works of noted choreographers such as Paul Taylor, Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Bill T. Jones, Milton Myers, Cleo Parker Robinson, Nai-Ni Chen, Adam Houghland, Jessica Lang, Christopher Huggins, Kevin Iega Jeff, and Winifred Haun. Mr. Gooden is excited to be joining Chicago Repertory Ballet as a Guest Artist for 2022 Season.

Meet Rachel

Rachel Schmidt began her dance training with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre under the direction of Robert Kelley and Diane Cypher. Upon graduating from Butler University in 2015 she moved to San Francisco, California where she danced as a trainee with Alonzo King LINES Ballet and later as a company member of dawsondanceSF, lead by Gregory Dawson. In 2019 she moved to New York City and performed with Brooklyn Ballet, Dance Lab New York as part of the Alchemy Lab Cycle at the Guggenheim Museum, and Visions Contemporary Ballet before moving to Chicago at the start of 2022. She has performed in works by Alonzo King, Sidra Bell, Maurya Kerr, Gregory Dawson, David Harvey, Robert Dekkers, and Susan McGuire. This is her first season with Chicago Repertory Ballet

Meet Franky

Originally from El Paso, TX, Francisco (Franky) Melendez is a former company dancer with the El Paso Ballet Theatre and Human Nature Contemporary Ballet. He moved to Chicago in 2019. Since then has received training from the Ruth Page Center For The Arts, Joel Hall Dancers & Center, and most recently from the Chicago Movement Collective as a Claire Bataille Legacy Program student. His primary dance training is in classical ballet, but since arriving to Chicago has begun exploring other forms of dance.

Meet Wade Schaaf

Wade Schaaf (They/Them) hails from the Chicago area and graduated Cum Laude from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater arts (emphasis on dance performance). During their professional career, Wade danced for multiple companies including the Ohio Ballet, State Street Ballet Santa Barbara, The Omaha Theater Ballet, Thodos Dance Chicago, and River North Chicago Dance Company. During their time dancing, Wade worked with numerous choreographers like Septime Weber, Stephen Mills, Frank Chaves, Laurie Stallings, and the Tony Award-winning choreographer Ann Reinking. Wade had the privilege to dance such roles as Tybalt in Robin Welche’s Romeo and Juliet, Snow King in Welche’s The Nutcracker, and Jonathan in Kennet Oberly’s “Dracula” as well, had the role of Mayor Carter Harrison set on them in the Thodos/Reinking collaboration, The White City.

After retiring from the stage, Mx. Schaaf went on to open Chicago Repertory Ballet in November of 2011. The company premiered to the headline review, “A Bright Debut for Chicago Repertory Ballet.” (Sid Smith, The Chicago Tribune). Since the debut of CRB Wade has gone on to create such exceptional works as, Le Sacre de Printemps, The Four Seasons and their full-length ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s MACBETH. Mx. Schaaf continues to steer the company through its vision of challenging our concept of ballet both in form and structure to create ‘dance that defies labels’.

Outside of the studio, Mx. Schaaf has a variety of interests ranging from visual art to health and wellness. Wade is certified in both the Pilates method (through Power Pilates) and RedCord and is happy to enrich the lives of many through fitness.