CHICAGO GROOVE

Discover first-rate dancing in the Second City.

- CARLY FISHER 

Chicago is known for many things— hot dogs, Michael Jordan, cool architecture, bad weather. But in 2022, the Windy City finally gained recognition for another talent when Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared a year-long focus on a star of its arts and culture community: dance.

For house music obsessives, the honor is severely overdue. After all, this is the city that birthed an international movement led by Godfather of House Music” DJ Frankie Knuckles and the legendary label Trax Records, paving the way for pioneers like Joe Smooth, Felix Da Housecat, DJ Pierre, DJ Rashad, RP Boo and DJ Spinn. Driven by chaotic, fast-paced beats clocking in around 150 to 165 bpm, this is the music that provided the backdrop for footwork culture to emerge in the late 1990s. Called juke or Chicago juke, it was put to work by battle-scene trailblazers, the Era Footwork Crew. Almost 20 years later, the same city would give rise to the drill scene, which still makes cameos in dance battles today.

Over the past three decades, the epicenter of the Midwest has rivaled the coasts for its growing headliner outdoor festival culture, drawing glitter-drenched ravers from around the world to combat-boot mosh pits at Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Music Festival, Riot Fest, North Coast Music Festival and ARC Music Festival. Today, you can find virtually every kind of dancer in this city, from bun heads and tap dancers to Red Bull Dance Your Style mavens vying for the national crown, May 18-20. It’s also the city responsible for The Super Bowl Shuffle” and DJ Casper’s foolproof Cha Cha Slide,” proving that you don’t even have to carry a beat to dance in this city, so there’s no excuse not to.

The next time you hit Chicago, ditch the well-traveled path—and fill up your dance card at these guaranteed hot spots.

MAKE MOVES