Hancher

Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana first picked up the alto, but an encounter with the music of Sonny Rollins led to a switch to tenor. When she was 24, she became the first female—and first South American musician—to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition.

The extraordinary dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater make their first appearance on the new Hancher stage. The performance will close with Revelations, Ailey’s masterwork that is as powerful today as it was when it debuted in 1960.

Nikolaj Busk (piano and accordion), Ale Carr (Nordic cittern), and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin) view their Nordic folk roots as a point of departure rather than a fixed destination. The trio blends this adventurous attitude with outstanding musicianship to recast tradition into something startlingly original.

One of Ireland’s most treasured musical ensembles, The Chieftains are six-time Grammy winners and incomparable instrumentalists and innovators who honor and extend the breadth and depth of traditional Irish music.

Performed in twelve languages (with English supertitles) with live music, poetry, and movement, The New Colossus asks: Who are we as a nation? The play explores the true stories of twelve people in the United States today because their families fled their countries of origin to escape oppression.

A self-described “social justice comedian,” Negin Farsad has been named one of the 10 Best Feminist Comedians by Paper magazine and one of the 50 Funniest Women by Huffington Post. She is also the writer, director, and star of the romantic comedy 3rd Street Blackout.

Drawing from the wellspring of their lived experiences as Muslims, artists, and more, three spoken word poets and storytellers will present an evening of powerful and deeply felt work.

RUBBERBAND returns with Vic’s Mix, a celebration of Victor Quijada’s 15 years of making dance—not only for his own company but for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Scottish Dance Theatre as well.

Carrying the legacy of her famous musical family forward, Rosanne Cash is one of the great singer-songwriters of our time. Pitchfork calls her latest record, She Remembers Everything, “a collection of miniatures that collectively paint a vivid, haunting portrait of the blessings and bruises of life.”

Gina Chavez traverses boundaries—in her musical styles, her bilingual lyrics, and her work as a cultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department—and creates a welcoming space for all. Chavez created this family-friendly concert that will be the inaugural Kids Club Hancher event.