A dancer doing a split in the air and raising her arm up.

Resident Company

La Femme Dance Festival

Red Clay Dance Company

Performances

Mar 28 Sat 7:30PM

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Tickets for this performance will go on sale at a later date.

Performance Run Time: 90 minutes

Red Clay Dance Company’s La Femme Dance Festival returns March 26-29, 2025, with a performance at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. The biennial festival celebrating the vision, artistry, and impact of women in dance brings choreographic works created by women of the Black/African diaspora to Chicago audiences.

The Harris Theater performance on Saturday, March 28 features works including the world premiere of Butler’s A SEAT (working title) for Red Clay Dance Company, along with a reprise of Founding Artistic Director and CEO Vershawn Sanders-Ward’s Unconditional Conditions (which premiered at the 2024 La Femme Dance Festival) and Love Letters to CHI-IL, also performed by the company. There will also be guest performances from Syncopated Ladies, a female tap dance band from LA led by Emmy Award-nominated tap dancer and choreographer Chloé Arnold, and from South Chicago Dance Theatre, which will perform an excerpt of choreographer Kia Smith’s Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley.

Other Festival Events:
• Artivist Table Brunch on Thursday, March 26
• Dance masterclass for professional dancers at Red Clay Dance Center with choreographer Rena Butler on Friday, March 27.
• Syncopated Ladies Empowerment Camp at Red Clay Dance Center on Sunday, March 29.

ABOUT RED CLAY DANCE COMPANY

Red Clay Dance is an award-winning Afro-contemporary dance company based in Chicago, Illinois, and is the brainchild of Vershawn Sanders-Ward, the company’s Founding Artistic Director and CEO.

Now in its 17th season, Red Clay Dance has become a leading force in contemporary dance rooted in African Diasporic traditions. The company’s ensemble of dynamic and versatile dance Artivists tours and performs across local, national, and international stages, bringing their signature blend of artistry and activism to diverse audiences around the world.

Red Clay Dance has graced renowned stages such as Jacob’s Pillow, The Yard, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Harris Theater for Music & Dance, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, the DuSable Museum of African American History, ODC Theater, Dance Mission Theater, The Painted Bride Art Center, and the National Theatre of Uganda. Their international touring history includes celebrated performances in Uganda, Senegal, and South Africa, along with numerous festivals and cultural exchanges across the United States.