May 13, 2019

"After the intermission, two spectacular duets, one by Autumn Eckman and the other by Nick Pupillo and featuring Meredith Harrill and Morgan Williams of Visceral Dance Chicago, swept the audience forward to a wild crescendo"

November 07, 2018

Visceral Dance Chicago has been a force to reckon with from the very moment it debuted on the stage of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance five years ago. But with the world premiere of “Take,” artistic director Nick Pupillo’s knockout of an immersive, evening-length work, it has outdone itself.

November 05, 2018

TAKE is a double world premiere including the duet KEEP, and an interconnection with VDC that suggests you can’t take without giving and can’t give without taking.  While focused on a sense of community, VDC offers a shared experience connecting with others, not just as an audience- as complex personalities participating in a joint human endeavor. Through intimate and bold movements and music, VDC provides a combined/reactive energy that is selfless, other-centered, intense and encompassing.

November 03, 2018

I was a smidge choked up by the final moments of the piece and the audience burst into enthusiastic, whooping applause at the end. “TAKE” is not only a showcase for the talents of a gifted ensemble, but also of an experimental spirit, a willingness to place a company that regularly performs on the Harris stage in more raw and vulnerable contexts. 

September 18, 2017

Five years ago, Visceral Dance Chicago’s explosive entry onto the Chicago dance scene took the town by storm, with exquisite dancing, sophisticated choreography, and production values that take most fledgling companies years to attain.............Visceral’s seemingly tireless artistic director Nick Pupillo continues to take his young company on a succession of fearless adventures, fantastic frolics, and demanding escapades. The five pieces on the program are testimony to the company’s versatility and skill across a diverse range of musical, stylistic and thematic choices, with varying degrees of risk-management.

September 17, 2017

But while “Synapse” dazzles with its designs, Mark Godden’s “Minor Threat” takes the cake choreographically. The work, originally staged in 1996 on Alberta Ballet and recreated for Visceral last season, is set to Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 20.” I remember commenting that this work would age well as the dancers became more familiar with one of Mozart’s most perfect compositions — and it has. Particularly impressive are a pair of tour de force performances from dancers Hanna Brictson and Riccardo Battaglia, but the whole lot have embraced Godden’s quirkier moments, which channel a bumbling, yet tragic Amadeus: running with fists outstretched as though ready to lob a volleyball, twirling their fingers at their temples and lifts with turned-in knees and feet, all contrasted by glorious passes of balletic dancing.

September 18, 2017

Launching its fifth season, Visceral Dance Chicago performed at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts on September 16, followed on Saturday, October 7 by a performance at Harris Theater in Millennium park– the Company’s home theater. The performance was varied in every respect, music, lighting, costuming, themes, emotions, and performers. Each piece was unique but all were compelling and energetic, the dancers skilled and remarkable.

May 16, 2017

On May 10-12, 2017, Visceral Dance Chicago presented its annual collection of new works, a series focusing on Chicago-based choreographers. This Year, “Solus World View”, inspired by the photography of France Leclerc, was held at “The Chop Shop and First Ward” 2033 W. North Avenue, and featured a unique program: each of the 10 company dancers performed solo, giving the audience a rare chance to observe their unique talent.

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May 13, 2017

Visceral Dance company takes it literally: ten photographs, striking in their exotic yet direct humanity, are points of departure for ten choreographers. Their solo pieces, roughly sewn at the edges, explore the various incarnations of movement, be it the ancient art of interpretive dance, or loose improvisation, or physical comedy borderline on slapstick, or an exquisite piece of shape-shifting contortion, or just a communal way of having a lot of fun (if you are young and rhythmically inclined).

April 11, 2017

Visceral Dance Chicago has returned for their third mainstage Chicago performance of their fourth season with their incredibly electric and visually stirring SPRINGFOUR.  As always, Visceral Dance Chicago’s immense creativity and breathtaking talent filled the stage, creating an evening of artistic brilliance.  Founder and Artistic Director, Nick Pupillo, continues to share his unique visions with the Chicago arts community, and with each performance, his company solidifies their place of importance in our city. 

April 11, 2017

On April 8th, Visceral Dance Chicago put on “SpringFOUR” to a full house at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph. Visceral Dance has emerged as a strong, well-balanced company with a distinctive and powerful aesthetic style. Their programs are characterized by a fiercely individual sensibility combined with an artistic sensitivity informed by an expanding repertoire of fine eclectic work, much of it choreographed by founder Nick Pupillo. “SpringFOUR” featured the sophisticated stagecraft/impressive lighting of Nathan Tomlinson and Brian Sidney Bembridge, costumes by Paul Daingle, Maggie Dianovsky and Nathan Rohrer, and the carefully selected, seamlessly integrated music for which Visceral Dance has become known.

April 09, 2017

Visceral Dance Chicago's Saturday one-nighter at the Harris Theater marked the end of its fourth season, highlighting the group's capacity to shift seamlessly between ballet and contemporary. The young company has already made a name for itself with ambitious commissions, crisp, clean dancing, a savings account of strong original works by artistic director Nick Pupillo and high-end production value competing with the biggest dance names in the city.

March 06, 2017

"The dancers movements, polished, lyrical, in solo work and duets, was in remarkable sync. Even their facial expressions, clues to the plot, were in accord. And what remarkable visages they were! Shining with supplication and spiritual intensity, alight with anger and passion, the 10 members of the troupe in their remarkable lithe athleticism, lifting effortlessly, created a saga of salvation and innocence restored. Kendall Scott was wonderfully agile and a testament to her fine training. Noelle Kayser gave a many-layered performance as  the Guardian. Paige Fraser's leaps and turns dropped jaws. Brandon Coleman was a man transformed from self-loathing to self-determination, through the magic of splendid music, great literature and fine choreography."

March 06, 2017

"Co-produced by Visceral Dance Chicago and The Chicago Philharmonic, “The Dream” is a dream come true for the two companies, who found artistic chemistry with two previous small-scale collaborations. “The Dream” is their first full-length work together, premiered Sunday for one performance only at the Harris Theater. One can only hope the success of “The Dream” portends more to come."

March 06, 2017

"It's just too bad that we were the only ones that will have that experience. To create what is essentially a full-length ballet from scratch and show it only once is a shame, but certainly not a waste. Programs like "The Dream" are not challenging, but they are completely necessary. It's why, all these years later, I still remember those Sunday mornings watching "Breakfast With the Arts," and why so many will look fondly back on that mild Sunday in March at the Harris."

March 01, 2017

"Then, on April 8, Visceral will return to the Harris for its SpringFour concert, featuring the world premiere of Pupillo’s “Synapse,” an LED-light immersive experience set to the driving house beat of Darryl Hoffman, as well as the return of his “Atlas,” set to music by the Turin String Quartet. The program also will include the technically challenging “Minor Threat” from Montreal-based choreographer Mark Godden, set to Mozart’s “Piano Concerto in D minor,” and “Changes,” a 2014 work by the gifted Spanish choreographer Monica Cervantes that explores the fast paced relationships in contemporary life"

February 26, 2017

"The dream sequence is startlingly beautiful, filled with realization and longing. The women in the troupe are destiny’s characters, luring Brandon on to an ultimate cleansing, faces suffused and rapt. The male dancers are strong and secure, partnering easily, providing continuity and completing the Utopic vision. As I watched, Pupillo sketched for me in words the finalized accouterments- his choice of music, lights, his signature use of drapery, costumes. The studio itself, black walls and floor, provided the perfect backdrop for my mind’s eye. This is a strong and non-linear tale told in superlative movement; like all of Dostoevsky’s work, it reaches an ultimate catharsis/transcendence."

January 01, 2017

"With her naturally long line, strong technique and dramatic attack, Fraser became a standout in this fast-rising company. Pupillo’s 2016 world premiere Vital showcased her dynamite style with beautifully unforced extensions and gazelle-like leaps. “Paige’s faith and determination completely embody her movement,” Pupillo says. “She has been a driving force in the growth of Visceral.”"

December 07, 2016

"Visceral Dance Chicago at the Harris Theater in April: You just can't beat live music, which also boosted Visceral's third-season spring show. Director Nick Pupillo came into his own with two bang-up premieres: the emotionally nuanced, tango-inspired "The Last Round," accompanied by the Chicago Philharmonic, and raucous "Vital," set to Peter Ferry's vividly played percussion. The dancers shone, as technicians and actors, in these works as well as Marguerite Donlon's new "Ruff Celts," a fun, funny, way-out-there demonstration of spontaneity."