River North Dance Chicago

Chaves’ new work is inspired by, and set to the music of, Eva Cassidy—an American songbird known for her luscious interpretations of jazz, blues, folk and gospel favorites.  Sadly, her unique voice was silenced all too soon when she tragically died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. Chaves evokes the intricate nuances of a chanteuse who deftly straddled genres, defied categorization and mastered the melding of different musical styles with her seemingly limitless range and imaginative phrasing: “Whether she beckons a soothing timbre for seductively restrained passages or shakes the rafters by unleashing her formidable power, Cassidy always fuse[s] her purity of tone with a purity of emotion.”