Chicago’s Hubbard Street 2 defies classification. The six-piece ensemble leaps and bounds through modern dance, ballet, and Latin steps — often within the same piece. “The company is very fluid by design, based on transition and continued flow,” says artistic director Julie Nakagawa Bottcher. “You see the dancers transform themselves from piece to piece through different movements. As they dance, they become different people.”

Bottcher, a onetime Cleveland Ballet hoofer, guides the troupe through six new works at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater tonight. The pieces range from Brazilian-flavored numbers to reggae riddims. Bottcher, who choreographed all of them, says the outdoor setting will be reflected in the work on stage. “The dances take into account the environment,” she says. Not that the spirited young dancers, all of whom are in their 20s, need much encouragement to get wild, Bottcher says. “It will be very joyful.”
Fri., July 28, 8 p.m.

This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2006.