This internationally acclaimed troupe combining balletic strength and discipline with jazz drive and showmanship was founded in 1977 by Lou Conte, a Midwesterner with considerable experience as a Broadway dancer and choreographer. He settled in Chicago in 1972 and opened the Lou Conte Dance Studio on Hubbard Street. From his best students, a group of four women began performing as the Hubbard Street Dance Company at senior centers and other local venues in 1977 and a year later Conte choreographed The 40s, a work which became the company's signature dance. The group featured dancers of great agility, strong musicality, and an exciting projection. The company grew steadily, giving its first downtown performance in 1981 and first going abroad in 1983, to Paris. An original company member, Claire Bataille, began choreographing with Conte in 1979. After 1982, Conte began to add works by such choreographers as Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Margo Sappington, Daniel Ezralow, Bob Fosse, and, most recently, Nacho Duato. The Twyla Tharp Project has added six of Tharp's works to the active repertory since 1990. In 1992, Conte altered the company name to reflect its close ties with Chicago, where in 1998 he opened a large new facility for the company.

Diana Haskell