Set against the backdrop of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the Thodos Dance Chicago company will bring an era gone by to life as they arrive at Eastern.

But that is only for the first act.

The entire production of “The White City” is what Melissa Thodos, the choreographer and artistic director, calls a “dance through the eras,” going from the Victorian era into the 1960s and then contemporary times.

Thodos Dance Chicago will perform “The White City” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Theatre of the Doudna Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $7 for students, $12 for seniors and Eastern employees and $15 for general admission.

The book by Erik Larsson, “The Devil in the White City,” which recounts the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, inspires the first act of “The White City.”

Dressed in period attire, the dancers will explore the World’s Fair and its history against classical music with a string quartet.

Thodos said while the first act is inspired by Larsson’s book, it is all of Chicago that helped transform the piece.

“I’m a native Chicagoan,” she said. “But apparently there are folks not aware of the history of (the World’s Fair), like students in school.”

What she calls “the best of the best and the worst of the worst,” is a story not told to many – and one Thodos felt needed to be told.

“It’s an unsung story,” she said. “It’s not at the forefront of history.”

She said while other Chicago events such as the Great Chicago Fire were well-known, it was not until she began exploring different research mediums that she found the history of the World’s Fair.

Moving the audience into the 1960s from the Victorian era, Thodos said there would be an act based on the early works of Bob Fosse, a cinematographer for films such as “Damn Yankees” and “Cabaret.”

Ending the time traversing production will be a contemporary piece to finish in modern times.

Thodos said mixing the time periods and bringing to life the World’s Fair was accomplished through a blend of different ideas.

“We took our own styles and adapted contemporary dance to the social status,” she said.

Thodos added that the World’s Fair in Chicago helped change the face of Chicago, an irreversible mark of its history. By the sheer size of the event, it would be history making.

“It was the party of the world,” she said.

Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@gmail.com.