October Dance Virtual Performance

Dance at Illinois invites you to a free livestream of October Dance on Wednesday, October 8 at 7:30pm. Watch the livestream here.

October Dance features the historic reconstruction of Katherine Dunham's seminal work Afrique, choreographed in 1949. Dunham, who is considered the matriarch of Black Dance, had a career that spanned Broadway, concert stages, opera, TV, and Hollywood films and inspired artists such as Eartha Kitt and Alvin Ailey. This production of a Dunham classic is directed by George A. Miller Visiting Artist April Berry, a certified master teacher of the Dunham Technique and a former principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In addition, former Hubbard Street dancer and choreographer Rena Butler offers a premiere along with Dance at Illinois resident artists: Dr. Cynthia Oliver performs a spoken word solo, Dr. C. Kemal Nance premieres a work for first-year students, and Associate Professor Roxane D'Orléans Juste performs with her sister, guest artist Sonia D'Orléans Juste.

This performance will be livestreamed on October 8, 2025, at 7:30pm.

You may also like the following events from Krannert Center for the Performing Arts:

• This Saturday, 4th October, 07:30 pm, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra: Season Opening: The Thrill of the Orchestra in Urbana
• Next Thursday, 9th October, 05:30 pm, Moving Through It: An Embodied Exploration of Resilience, Power, and Play in Urbana
• Next Thursday, 9th October, 07:30 pm, October Dance in Urbana

Also check out other Arts events in Urbana, Entertainment events in Urbana, Virtual events in Urbana.