CONTEMPORARY DANCE, JAZZ, GROUP WORK, PARTNERING
LAB: 26 & 27 August | 10-16h
PERFORMANCE: 29 August | 19h
Kia S. Smith is a Chicago native, the Founder and Director of Vision and Strategy for South Chicago Dance Theatre. As a freelance choreographer, Kia’s recent commissions include Scottish Ballet School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Resilience Dance, New Dance Partners, James Madison University, Columbia College Chicago, Opera Laguna, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Chicago Opera Theater, Giordano Dance Chicago, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and others. Kia’s first evening length work Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley for South Chicago Dance Theatre premiered at the Auditorium Theatre of Chicago in 2023 and See Chicago Dance affirmed “Smith’s first evening length piece ‘Memoirs’ is a tour de force and a sensory immersion into this artists creative well springs”. Kia was a 3Arts Make A Wave awardee, an Ann & Weston Hicks Choreographic Fellow at the renowned Jacobs Pillow and a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist. Kia was named a Rising Star in 2023 by Chicago Magazine, Player of the Moment in the category of Dance for New City Magazine’s annual 50 Players List in 2023 and one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch for 2024. WBEZ recently recognized Kia as a “breakout artist” for 2024!
South Chicago Dance Theatre is firmly rooted on Chicago’s south side and in its first nine seasons has developed a global presence as a renowned dance company with repertory spanning a breadth of contemporary and historic choreographers. Led by founder, Resident Choreographer and Director of Vision and Strategy, Kia S. Smith, SCDT has been lauded “the next big thing to hit Chicago’s dance scene” by the Chicago Tribune and “a company to watch in 2025 and beyond” by the Berkshire Eagle. Prioritizing intergenerational learning and exchange, SCDT’s core programs include the Main Company, Associate Artist Program, Education and Community Programs, South Chicago Dance Festival, Choreographic DiplomacyTM program Dancing Beyond Boundaries and Dancing Across Generations. Notable performances to date include SCDT’s sold out Harris Theater For Music and Dance debut in 2022, Kia S. Smith’s first evening length work Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley which coincided with SCDT’s debut at the preeminent Auditorium Theatre of Chicago in 2023, SCDT’s Jacob’s Pillow debut in 2024 and international tours to Vietnam, South Korea, the Netherlands and South America. SCDT is pleased to be making its Submerge Dance Festival debut and thankful to Marcela and her team for giving the company the opportunity to take part in the festival’s 10th anniversary.
WEB: southchicagodancetheatre.com IG: @kia_s_smith
IMPROVISATORY WORLD BUILDING
LAB: 26 & 27 August | 10-16h
Participating artists will join Kia S. Smith and South Chicago Dance Theatre in research and “improvisatory world building”. During this process, artists will be immersed in learning to trust the instinctual and child-like play of the creative process exploring text, sound, gesture and contemporary movement rooted in wonder, imagination and joy.
SUITE ON THE SAHARA
PERFORMANCE: 29 August | 19h (DOUBLE BILL with Angélica Roa
Suite On The Sahara, a new work conceived during SCDT’s January 2026 residency at LAKE Studios in Berlin, Germany. Scaffolded by the genius of artists from the Silk Road Ensemble, the piece weaves sounds from Argentina, Morocco, Spain, and Italy, immersing audiences in a landscape flowing with light, color, passion, and a range of movement vocabularies. For this work, Smith steps away from the cerebral work of narrative building to allow her first love, music, to be at the helm of the choreographic process.
Director/Choreographer: Kia S. Smith
Lighting Designer: David Goodman-Edberg
Costume Designer: Trey Alexander
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla, Elliot Goldenthal, Telemachus, Bryce Dessner, Marina Ortega Mira, Silk Road Ensemble, Caleb Arredondo
Artists: Tonei Silver, Trey Alexander, Mya Bryant, Brodie Wolf, Chloe Chandler, Jack Halbert, Katrina Hidalgo, Kelly Anderson