*Meet our Featured Dancer*
This month Dance Gallery decided to do something a bit different. We are featuring someone a bit unexpected, a bit comical, but a dancer with a huge heart, and real devotion to Dance Gallery Chicago.
Congratulations to DANCING DADDY: Matt!!
At the studio, we know him as the fun-loving father of Hannah, Riley and Allison C., but Matt has actually been performing in our shows for 10+ years! Longer than a few of his daughters have!
This Year’s upcoming recital on June 1st, marks his 6th recital with Dance Gallery over the years! Each ‘show-year’ Matt signs up for our infamous “Dancing Daddies” piece, choreographed and organized by the one-and-only Miss Marylee.
She gets together with our dancing daddies each Friday night and takes on the huge task of getting 20+ dads to dance together- learn a long choreographed piece- stay on rhythm- AND look good! … and they may have a bit of fun doing it.
Every season this dance is such a show-stopper. The audience goes wild! You will find classic jazz steps, ballroom, even some ballet. But you will always get big characters, wonderful commitment and acting. Last year we even had full wigs and women’s dresses! You never know what brilliance and shenanigans these guys will come up with! This year you can find them featured as the ever-so-delicate ‘dancing ELEPHANT ballerinas’!!!! What a hoot.
The dancing kids are so proud of their dads partaking in their own daddy-dance as well as spending more quality time together. You can see the children’s faces beaming when their daddies are able to perform up on the big stage too!
As a very veteran Dancing Daddy, Matt states that his favorite moments are “meeting the new people each season, and bonding with fellow dads, particularly behind the theatre in between shows :)”
Matt says Dance Gallery has given him “this opportunity to perform and share an experience with my daughters’ love for dance.”
Q: What Quality do you love most about Dance Gallery Chicago?
“The feeling that were all one big family.”
Q: What is your funniest memory to date?
“Coming on stage as a cigar-smoking cleaning lady!” 
He can surely strike a pose with the best of them:
His daughters have felt so much pride and bonding with their father as they have participated in so many shows together with Dance Gallery Chicago.
Matt’s Oldest daughter Hannah states: “They experience of performing together has brought them closer together as a family.”
[to Matt’s dancing daughters]
Q: What are your favorite memories of seeing your father dance, and dancing with him throughout the years?
A: Our favorite memories are walking out as a family during finale and all being able to bow together after every show”.
What a treasure to have these memories, and a treasure to the studio to have this special dancing family as a part of our dance-community! Thank you for your participation and wonderful, loving, commitment to Dance Gallery Chicago!
