Heather Roffe puts on a good show. One that is entertaining in the manner of the old-fashioned variety shows your grandparents used to watch, but with a cutting edge. A sharp one. As Fringe wound down Sunday night, Roffe and company performed nine pieces in their dance concert “Spection – Intro/Retro” at GEVA Theatre’s Nextstage […]
Casey Carlsen
Posted inCulture
Rochester Fringe Festival, Day 4: Day of Dance, Rochester Contemporary Dance Collective reviews
By Saturday, Fringe really felt like a full-blown festival. The parking was tight, the sidewalks were full, and the line at Java’s was long. Knots of people stood outside various venues, clutching programs and discussing the merits of a show they’d just seen or debating which event to take in next. For me, it was […]
Posted inCulture
Rochester Fringe Festival, Day 3: PUSH Physical Theatre review
A large crowd filled the lobby and looped around the entrance to the TheaterROCS stage at Xerox Auditorium Friday night as people waited patiently for the doors to open for PUSH Physical Theatre’s first show at Rochester Fringe. I gleaned from snippets of conversation in the rapidly overheating space that many had seen PUSH perform […]
Posted inCulture
Rochester Fringe Festival Day 2: “Spirits Within” and Present Tense Dance reviews
Apparitions of light, sound, and movement filled Christ Church with moments of gravity Thursday night as FuturPointe Dance, led by Artistic Director Guy Thorne, performed “Spirits Within” to the chilling organ music of Stephen Kennedy, music director of Christ Church and professor of sacred music at the Eastman School of Music. Visuals projected on to […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
DANCE: Stop, collaborate, and listen
Dance is about being fully aware — completely present physically, mentally, and emotionally. That being said, let me note that it can be very difficult to get dancers and choreographers to project what they’ll be doing a few months down the road, especially this year, when most of the dance groups in town seem primarily […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
Best Bets at Rochester Fringe: Casey Carlsen’s picks
BIODANCE, a well-established, local contemporary group led by Missy Pfohl Smith, has two distinctly different shows in the festival. “Breakdown: Dance/Sound” is an experimental new work performed to the orchestral music of Sound ExChange. The piece uses 50 musicians and 10 dancers, and promotes audience interaction. BIODANCE’s other work, “Love at First Waltz,” highlights Smith’s […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
A step apart
The third annual Nazareth College Arts Center Dance Festival begins this week and lasts through next weekend, bringing a diverse range of dance forms to both stage and lawn. The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra kicks off the festival Thursday evening with a Dance Festival Overture led by Jeff Tyzik; the evening will include accompanying dance performances. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
DANCE: Garth Fagan Dance
On a recent afternoon, Garth Fagan Dance was rehearsing in their Chestnut Street studio, a loft-like space with sumptuous high ceilings, stained glass windows, and lots of light. Fagan presided from behind an old wooden desk, his dark eyes sparkling beneath a black-and-white-striped knit cap. A convivial quiet, accented by the occasional light laugh, filled […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
DANCE: Raw, Real and Revealed”
Rochester City Ballet is growing, and artistic director and choreographer Jamey Leverett wants to ensure that audiences comprehend the scope of the company’s dancing. That’s the part of the impetus behind "Raw, Real and Revealed," a combination lecture/performance this weekend at NazarethArtsCenter. "Some people have a very distinct idea of what ballet is," Leverett says. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Garth Fagan Q&A
FAGAN …on his dance, his dancers — and Ren Square Dance Garth Fagan’s voice resonates with a deep richness; a good-humored warmth. It conveys both the vibrant energy and seasoned emotional depth that he values so highly in his dancers. Fagan chooses his words carefully when discussing his Rochester-based dance company, often punctuating his comments […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Pilobolus Dance Theater
All the right moves Pilobolus combines dance, acrobatics, acting and more Part dance, part acrobatics, part physics, part theater — and all entertainment — Pilobolus Dance Theater is an icon of unconventionality even in the unconventional world of modern dance. Rochesterians will get their chance to see what all the fuss is about when the […]
