Performance Exhibition
Kara Hunsinger: "Return to Us"
Friday, November 13 1:00-2:00 pm Register Now Free; Registration Recommended
Kara Hunsinger presents a solo variation of her new work, Return to Us, a live performance examining the psychic and social dissonance of contemporary life under constant digital mediation. We congratulate a friend on an achievement, then repost footage of state violence. We take in news of war, genocide, and climate collapse while presenting images of perfection, productivity, and belonging. Hunsinger’s work interrogates the normalization of such digital behavior and considers the cost of performing stability while everything feels fractured. Tracing an arc from disconnection to reconnection, Return to Us questions how easily we surrender agency to the rectangle in our hands.
About the Artist
Kara Hunsinger is a Chicago-based dance artist whose movement lives at the intersection of athleticism, emotional depth, and storytelling. Her work is rooted in presence, curiosity, and the belief that the body holds both memory and meaning. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona School of Dance, where she deepened her understanding of the body as both instrument and narrator. Her training has taken her across the U.S. and internationally, including time with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Ate9 Dance Company, SALT Contemporary Dance, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Share Dance Intensive Berlin. Hunsinger is currently a company member with Boykin Dance Project and has previously performed with multiple Chicago based dance companies. Her performance repertoire spans contemporary and ballet-based works by Helene Simoneau, Noelle Kayser, Mike Tyus, Robert Battle, James Gregg, Nacho Duato, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, and Ohad Naharin. In addition to performing, Kara is an emerging choreographic voice. She served as Choreographic Assistant with Boykin Dance Project from 2022–2024, contributing to works such as Nonsense! and Smart Mouth. Her own choreography, including Can You Hear Me Now? and Let The River Answer, reflects her interest in physical storytelling, human connection, and the emotional undercurrents that shape modern life. This is her third collaboration with Brendan Fernandes, following his installation Skin in the Game (2024), and the immersive performance 72 Seasons (2021) at Lurie Garden.
About the Performer
Josephine (Josie) Starr, born and raised in Marshall Missouri, began her training as a competition dancer. She has sense graduated with a B.F.A. in Dance and departmental honors from Webster University. She has had the privilege of training with companies across the United States, some of them including Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Inaside Dance Chicago and Visceral Dance Chicago. She continues her dance practice post college, performing professionally with Little Fire Dance Project and Boykin Dance Project.