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photo by steed media service
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Finale Choreographer, Dance for Life
Choreographer Randy Duncan speaks to the world through complex,
synchronized movements. There is a meaning behind each shift, flux,
twist and gesture that Duncan seeks to relay to the audience. “Make
sure you have something to say. There are dancers or choreographers
[who] do movement for movement’s sake, which is a good thing. [But] as
long as you know that’s what you’re doing fine,” said Randy Duncan,
Finale Choreographer for Dance for Life. “There are others who have a
message behind what they are saying [with the dance].” For the finale
of “Dance for Life” (DFL), Duncan prefers the latter.
DFL is an annual dance event that brings together some of Chicago’s
best dance companies, including The Joffrey Ballet, to raise money to
fight HIV and AIDS. The organization started 16 years ago by a group of
dancers who wanted to do something about the HIV and AIDS epidemic that
claimed the lives of their friends. DFL has quickly become the
Midwest’s largest performance-based fundraiser, raising over $3 million
for various AIDS organizations since its inception.
Choreographing since 1979, Duncan has an extensive repertoire including
work on his first film, “Save the Last Dance,” with actor Julia Stiles.
The Chicago native said having something to say is one of the best
things about what he does overall, and he always tries to correspond
his orchestrated movements with a theme or subject.
“For the finale for DFL it is about community, it is about
togetherness, it is about helping each other and you can see that
through the dance,” he said. “Some folks want to talk about trees,
love, hate.as long as you have something to say, and not just to get up
there to do some sort of recital as you did as a kid, that’s
different,” he said. -tarin harris
