Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) founding company member Claire Anne Bataill died Dec. 30, 2018, at her home in Oak Park following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 66.
Born in Elmhurst in 1952, Bataille began dancing with Hubbard Street Dance Company (as it was then known) in 1977, when it was a four-woman troupe doing lecture-demonstrations in the city’s senior-citizen centers. She danced with the company for 15 years, performing as a company member for the last time in 1992 in Twyla Tharp’s “The Golden Section.”
As a choreographer, Bataille created works for HSDC, Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater, Chicago’s Akasha Dance Company and the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble, among others.
Bataille is survived by sons Isaac Sorsa and Jack Sorsa; their father, Don Sorsa; and her brothers, Abbot Vincent P. Bataille and retired Maj. Gen. Emile Bataille. A public memorial service at the Goodman Theatre is being planned for a future date to be announced.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be sent to the “Claire Bataille Memorial Fund” at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, 1147 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago IL 60607. The fund will support free training for dancers between the ages of 17-23 who are on the cusp of professional careers. Recipients of these funds will also receive career counseling and mentorship from Hubbard Street dancers and staff.