Thodos gala is hot and cool

The Great White Hall of the Chicago History Museum, 1601 N. Clark, provided a most suitable ambiance to compliment Thodos Dance Chicago’s wonderful “Fire & Ice benefit, held Jan. 31. Thodos’ members, led and inspired by the imagination and phenomenal skill of artistic director and event hostess Melissa Thodos, have performed in dozens of venues throughout the United States and overseas.

Thodos Dance Chicago participates in Dance For Life and Chicago Takes Off, and donates tickets to HIV/AIDS agencies such as AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Test Positive Aware Network as part of the company’s Partners in Performance program.

After I photographed the beautiful guests and dancers, at the end of the glittering evening co-hosted by the charming and charismatic NBC-5 news reporter Kim Vatis, they even got me to dance the cha-cha-cha for charity—although I would have danced anyway. Photos and text by Steve Starr