Lou Conte

A native of southern Illinois, Lou Conte began tap dancing at age 7 and danced in musical theater on Broadway and in international tours before moving to Chicago in 1972. Two years later, in 1974, he founded the Lou Conte Dance Studio, from which grew the troupe Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. HSDC quickly gained an international profile, thriving with Conte as artistic director until his retirement in 2000. A prolific director, dancer, instructor, and choreographer, Conte is recognized with many honors and awards; he received the Sidney R. Yates Arts Advocacy Award in 1995, was named Chicagoan of the Year in Dance by Chicago Magazine in 1999, and in 2001 was named one of six laureates of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, receiving the highest honor bestowed by the state on Illinois citizens. He was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2009.