Performance Activity Exhibition
Concerts of Dance: Hanna DiLorenzo
Wednesday, October 14-Saturday, October 17 Free; Registration Required for Workshop
Overview
Choreographer Hanna DiLorenzo brings her phenomenology-based dance practice to the Driehaus Museum for a week of rehearsals, public engagement, performance, and film creation. Rooted in explorations of science, cause and effect, and the human condition, the residency invites audiences into the creative process through multiple points of access.
DiLorenzo will present two works from her ongoing Phenomenology Series. Behind Closed Doors, which premiered in June 2025 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts as part of New Dances 2025 – a partnership between Thodos Dance Chicago and DanceWorks Chicago, examines how shared family trauma fractures into conflicting truths and seeks reconciliation through embodied empathy and collective understanding. Audiences are invited to attend open rehearsals on October 14 and experience a live performance on October 17.
The residency also features Where Absence Grows, created for Little Fire Artist Collective. In this work, grief becomes a shifting landscape as dancers navigate the cyclical rhythms of loss, memory, and renewal. Open rehearsals will take place October 14 and 15, culminating in a live film shoot on October 16 reimagining the stage work as a dance film.
A movement improvisation workshop on October 15 offers dancers an opportunity to deepen both creative and technical skills through somatic practice, structured improvisation, and rigorous movement exploration.
Behind Closed Doors features dancers Caitlin Wonosowski, Ariana Sugay, Josephine Starr, and Isaiah Cavallero. Where Absence Grows includes Michelle Skiba, Kara Hunsinger, Josephine Starr, Nia Montgomery, Frances Whitford, Sophia Berger, and Catie Armbrecht, and Daniel Williams is cinematographer for the film.
Schedule of Programs
Open Rehearsals
Wednesday, October 14 | 12-4 pm
Thursday, October 15 | 2-4 pm
Hanna DiLorenzo hosts open rehearsals of Behind Closed Doors (Part I) and Where Absence Grows (Part II), two works from her ongoing Phenomenology Series.
Free; Walk-ins Welcome.
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Movement Improvisation Workshop
Thursday, October 15 | 12-1 pm
This movement improvisation workshop with Hanna DiLorenzo offers dancers an opportunity to deepen both creative and technical skills through somatic practice, structured improvisation, and rigorous movement exploration.
The workshop is intended for general audiences and movement practitioners.
Free; Registration Required
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Live Filming of Where Absence Grows (Part II)
Friday, October 16 | 2-4 pm
Hanna DiLorenzo conducts a live filming of Where Absence Grows (Part II) from her ongoing Phenomenology Series.
Free; Walk-ins Welcome.
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Performance of Behind Closed Doors
Saturday, October 17 | 1-2 pm
DiLorenzo presents Behind Closed Doors, a performance that examines how shared family trauma fractures into conflicting truths and seeks reconciliation through embodied empathy and collective understanding.
Free; Registration Recommended.
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About the Artist
Hanna DiLorenzo is a multidisciplinary freelance dance artist originally from Rochester, NY. She began her formal training at The Draper Center for Dance Education, formerly the school of the Rochester City Ballet. Later, she attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she earned her BFA in Contemporary Dance, and completed her academics early before moving to Chicago to join the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Professional Training Program (HS Pro). There, she completed her degree while performing alongside the main company, and was honored with the 2019 HS Pro Emerging Choreographer Award. Now based in Chicago, DiLorenzo moves fluidly between roles as a performer, choreographer, rehearsal director, and collaborator. She is a company member with Boykin Dance Project, a founding member of Little Fire Artist Collective, and dancer, choreographer, and rehearsal director for Niko8 Performance. Her freelance work has led her to perform pieces by artists including Braeden Barnes, Brendan Fernandes, Abdiel Figueroa Reyes, FLOCKWORKS, Alicia Johnson, Brian Martinez, Jessi Stegall, and Justin Rapaport, and she was also a cover for Robyn Mineko Williams’ Echo Mine. DiLorenzo’s choreographic voice is grounded in a desire to challenge convention—crafting work that moves with cinematic clarity while using staging and lighting as expressive tools. Her choreography has been presented by Chicago Live, Highland Park High School, HS Pro, Little Fire Artist Collective, New Dances 2025, Niko8, See Chicago Dance, and various film festivals. Choreographic residencies on the horizon include the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Symbiosis Arts.