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 effecting
choreography set to the waltzes of Brahms, as well as sneak peeks of
soon-to-be-premiered jazz dance and swing pieces. (“Breakdown” takes place Saturday 9/22 4-5 p.m. at Christ Church.
Tickets cost $6-$10.)

It’s not often that dance and science mesh this closely. “AstroDance” is an astrophysics/dance project funded by
National Science Foundation and conceived and choreographed by RIT faculty
Thomas Warfield that represents concepts of gravitational physics interpreted
through dance. Phew! Heavy. The enterprise is an RIT
collaboration involving the National Institute for the Deaf, the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, and
the College of Science. (Saturday 9/22 6
p.m. at Little Theatre 1. Admission is free.)

PUSH Physical Theatre is technically astride the fence
between dance and theater, but I am always eager to include them under the
umbrella of dance. I find their work riveting in its feats of physical prowess
as well as insightful and deeply humorous in content. My 9-year-old alternates
between gasping and chuckling appreciatively when attending their performances.
Husband-and-wife team Darren and Heather Stevenson founded the company in
Rochester in 2000 out of a desire to “push” the boundaries of traditional
theater. During Fringe, the company will perform two new pieces: “The Evolution
of Aviation” and “The Natural World.” Take the kids.(Friday 9/21 6-7 p.m. and Saturday 9/22 10:30-11:30
p.m. at TheatreROCS at Xerox Auditorium.
Tickets cost $15.)

Two solo dance performances immediately caught my eye on the
Fringe schedule. I recommend both of them. Heather Roffe,
an alumni of Garth Fagan Dance, a current member of Futurpointe
Dance, and one of the most talented, consistent and professional dancers in
Rochester today, performs “Spection — Intro/Retro.” The show features selections from her more recent choreography set to music
ranging from Aretha Franklin to tango (Roffe has
taught tango for years) to Meredith Monk. (Saturday
9/22 4:30-5:30 p.m., Sunday 9/23 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Geva
Theatre Nextstage. Tickets cost $15.)

Relatively new to the Rochester Dance scene is Mariah
Maloney Dance. Maloney is a former member of the renowned Trisha Brown
Dance Company. This summer her company performed her choreography at the
prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. During Fringe, she will appear in a
solo set to traditional Irish music. Her company will present a 14-member
ensemble piece she created inspired by Baroque choral compositions and an edgy
female sextet danced to music ranging from Brazilian Girls to Carl Orff. (Saturday 9/22 1-2 p.m. at George Eastman
House Terrace Garden. Free admission.)

Finally, Day of Dance offers an opportunity to see a
number of different groups perform on two separate days. The first day brings
Next Best Thing, Kristi Faulkner Dance, I am Cooper, and Geomantics
Dance Theater (led by Richard Haisma, this company is
worth catching). On the second day, enjoy the concert dance of Juxtapose, the
tap of Cheryl Johnson (also see her in the highly entertaining Bill Evans and
Company: Modern Dance, Modern Tango and Contemporary Dance performances) and
the percussive dance of Brouhaha. And I’m curious about Areadance
from New York City, premiering Britney Falcon’s newest modern dance work. (Saturday 9/22 12:15-3:15 p.m., Sunday 9/23
noon-3 p.m. at RAPA’s East End Theatre. Suggested donation
$5.)