Our Mission
Award winning dance theater ensemble fostering community globally through performance, education, community empowerment and diplomacy.
South Chicago Dance Theatre (SCDT) creates artistic experiences for all people through our world-class repertory dance ensemble and innovative cultural programming. Our performances intersect with education, diplomacy and workforce development through programs that:
- are grounded by inclusion
- foster community empowerment; and
- uplift voices across generations, cultural barriers and geographies as we serve audiences and communities throughout the Greater Chicagoland area and the globe.
Our Story
South Chicago Dance Theatre is firmly rooted on Chicago’s South Side and has developed a global presence as a renowned dance company with repertory spanning a breadth of contemporary and historic choreographers. Led by founder, Resident Choreographer and Director of Vision and Strategy Kia S. Smith, SCDT has been lauded “the next big thing to hit Chicago’s dance scene” by the Chicago Tribune, and Smith was named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch for 2024.
Prioritizing intergenerational learning and exchange, SCDT’s core programs utilize the art of dance to reframe trauma narratives through creative storytelling and replace dominant cultural narratives with community narratives. These creative initiatives include the Main Company, Associate Artist Program, Education and Community Programs, Dancing Across Generations, South Chicago Dance Festival, Choreographic Diplomacy™ program and Workforce Development. The art of dance empowers our community to resist oppression and foster collective healing.
Notable performances include SCDT’s sold-out Harris Theater for Music and Dance debut in 2022; Kia S. Smith’s first evening-length work, Memoirs of Jazz in the Alley, which coincided with SCDT’s debut at the Auditorium Theatre of Chicago in 2023; SCDT’s Jacob’s Pillow debut in 2024; and international tours to Germany, Vietnam, South Korea, the Netherlands and South America.
SCDT’s performances also span collaborations with institutions including Music of the Baroque, Giordano Dance Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, the Isaiah Spencer Collective, Isaiah Collier and the Chosen Few, Chicago Public Schools, Stony Island Arts Bank, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Choomna Dance Company and Opera Laguna.
Recent recognition includes receiving awards from the Mellon Foundation and the International Association of Blacks in Dance (2021 and 2024), participating in the Allies For Community Business Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab for minority owned businesses on Chicago’s south and west sides (2022), receiving the African American Arts Alliance Black Excellence award for “Dance Company” (2021), recognition from the Princess Grace USA foundation (2021 and 2026) and receiving the Chicago DCASE Foster Innovation Award (2021). Smith was also recently honored with a 3Arts Make A Wave Award (2021), a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award (2022) and a Choreographic Fellowship at the renowned Jacob’s Pillow (2021).