Performances

BIODANCE performs at Monroe Community Hospital 11/17/23 2pm FREE

BIODANCE is thrilled to share choreography and performance with the residents, staff and guests at Monroe Community Hospital on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 at 2pm in the auditorium. All are welcome and admission is free.

This performance is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts.

Wander & Wonder III in Fringe!

Presented by BIODANCE/Missy Pfohl Smith and Ethan Beckwith-Cohen, Wander & Wonder III celebrates its first appearance in the Rochester Fringe Festival, and its third year of outdoor site-specific performances by local dance artists. Wander & Wonder III makes its debut in the Rochester Fringe Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1pm. Audiences meet at the Garden of Fragrance and wander the grounds of Rochester Museum and Science Center following the artists for site-specific performances by local dance artists including Ethan Beckwith-Cohen & Zaire Sprowal, Neyda Colón-DiMaria & Luis Carrión, Donna Davenport & Michelle Ikle, Natalia Lisina, Laurie McFarlane & Nanako Horikawa Mandrino, BIODANCE/Missy Pfohl Smith & OSSIA New Music (with music influenced by audience participation and composed by Logan Barrett), Claire Spenard & Roy Marshall, Harold Taddy/The Velvet Noose, Grace Myers & Evan Courtney, Gabrielle Samuel, and Sabrina Bui. FREE – no tickets required.

As a non-profit organization, we always welcome tax-deductible donations.
40% of donations to Wander & Wonder 2023 will go to the MOCHA center, a non-profit that promotes LGBTQ+ health and wellness for communities of color in New York State. The other 60% will directly pay the artists for their performances. Thank you!

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, and the Rochester Area Community Foundation. 

Stories From the Living Tree

On Sept. 13 at 7:30pm and Sept. 17 at 4pm, Mount Hope World Singers and BIODANCE will present a collaborative evening of song and dance: Stories from the Living Tree at the Theater at Innovation Square as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival. Telling each other stories of how to understand, we explore a reverent connection to nature as represented in the universal by cultures from around the world. Featuring animation by Christine Banna and sound design by Greg Woodsbie

Tickets can be purchased at: https://rochesterfringe.com/tickets-and-shows/stories-from-the-living-tree-1
$15 General/$10 Students with ID/Free for Children 12 and Under

Dancers and choreographers include Yaa Adenike Cunningham, Sarah Johnson, Nanako Horikawa Mandrino, Euridece Seche, Katherine Serna, Missy Pfohl Smith, Donetta Tchoroleev. 

We greatly appreciate the support from the following that has made this project possible: Rochester Area Community Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Arts and Cultural Initiative, administrated by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, the Statewide Community Regrant Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with support from the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, administered by the Genesee Valley Arts Council, and the Greater Rochester Choral Consortium.

The Canandaigua Treaty is a treaty between the United States of America and the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora. We are beneficiaries of this Treaty. May we acknowledge the harms done by colonization in the past and that continue in the present and work toward understanding, reconciliation, and sharing the land in a good way.

To support the Tulalip Tribe’s efforts to revitalize Lushootseed, the native language and culture of Chief Seattle, please visit: https://www.lushootseedresearch.org/support-us/

To support Seneca art and culture, please visit: https://ganondagan.org/Support/Giving/Donate

Wander & Wonder III – Aug 23, 24 & Sept. 23

Presented by BIODANCE/Missy Pfohl Smith and Ethan Beckwith-Cohen, Wander & Wonder III celebrates its third year on Wednesday, August 23th @6pm & Thursday, August 24th @6pm in two wonderful evenings of performance by local dance artists. Wander & Wonder III will also makes its debut in the Rochester Fringe Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1pm. Audiences meet at the Garden of Fragrance and wander the grounds of Rochester Museum and Science Center following the artists for site-specific performances by local dance artists including Ethan Beckwith-Cohen & Zaire Sprowal, Neyda Colón-DiMaria & Luis Carrión, Donna Davenport & Michelle Ikle, Natalia Lisina, Laurie McFarlane & Nanako Horikawa Mandrino, BIODANCE/Missy Pfohl Smith & OSSIA New Music (with music influenced by audience participation and composed by Logan Barrett), Claire Spenard & Roy Marshall, Harold Taddy/The Velvet Noose, Grace Myers & Evan Courtney, Gabrielle Samuel, Sabrina Bui, and Amya Brice. TICKETS —> https://www.eventbrite.com/…/wander-wonder-iii-tickets
“Pay what you can” Suggested $10 Donation. 
40% of donations go to the MOCHA center, a non-profit that promotes LGBTQ+ health and wellness for communities of color in New York State.This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, and the Rochester Area Community Foundation. 

An Evening of RPO Jazz, Dance, and Ice Cream Outdoors – Aug. 1 5:15pm – Free

BIODANCE is excited to partner again with the Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance! On August 1, we will offer a free performance of excerpts from Stories from the Living Tree in collaboration with Mount Hope World Singers. Our performance is from 5:15pm-5:45pm, followed by Herb Smith and the Freedom Trio at 6:30pm. Free ice cream and T-shirts will also be supplied by JAACA.

Open to all!

Location: Neighborhood Services Center of the Northeast Quadrant; 5:15-7:30pm. For more info, visit https://josephavearts.org/events

Stories from the Living Tree May 18&21 at MAG

Thursday May 18 7:00 pm
Sunday May 21 2:00 pm
Memorial Art Gallery M&T Ballroom
500 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14607
Suggested donation $15. No one turned away for lack of funds.
ASL interpretation provided. 

Livestream 5/18/23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUtYnCvKxFY

Livestream 5/21/23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT-weWpmNys 

Tickets/make a donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate?campaign_id=9BLEEGSRVMUUN&source=qr

The Canandaigua Treaty is a treaty between the United States of America and the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora. We are beneficiaries of this Treaty. May we acknowledge the harms done by colonization in the past and that continue in the present and work toward understanding, reconciliation, and sharing the land in a good way.

To support the Tulalip Tribe’s efforts to revitalize Lushootseed, the native language and culture of Chief Seattle, please visit: https://www.lushootseedresearch.org/support-us/

To support Seneca art and culture, please visit: https://ganondagan.org/Support/Giving/Donate

On Thursday, May 18, and Sunday, May 21, 2023, Mount Hope World Singers and BIODANCE will present an immersive experience of song and dance: Stories from the Living Tree. Telling each other stories of how to understand, we explore a reverent connection to nature as represented in the universal by cultures from around the world. Featuring animation by Christine Banna and sound design by Greg Woodsbie.

Dancers include Yaa Adenike Cunningham, Sarah Johnson, Nanako Horikawa Mandrino, Euridece Seche, Katherine Serna, Missy Pfohl Smith, Donetta Tchoroleev.

We greatly appreciate the support from the following that has made this project possible: Rochester Area Community Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Arts and Cultural Initiative, administrated by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, the Statewide Community Regrant Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with support from the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, administered by the Genesee Valley Arts Council, and the Greater Rochester Choral Consortium.

Poster by D. Norsen Design.

RESPONSE – 3/29/23 AsIs Gallery 7:30pm

https://www.sageart.center/response

March 28 – 31, 2023

RESPONSE is a four-day event that will focus on spaces as catalysts for responses in the visual arts, music, and dance. The event focuses on the active observation, interpretation, engagement with, and activation of physical environments, and the discovery of new connections through the juxtaposition of art practices.​

– How do we respond to our surroundings? 

– How does our response change over time?

– How do political and social frameworks shape our responses?

– How can our responses shape the spaces we occupy?

– What happens when we confront a space filled with sound, movement, and visual art?

RESPONSE will spotlight visiting artists John Halpern and Daniel Melo Morales, include two exhibitions of UR student artwork, and feature live performances by BIODANCE, UR faculty in the Program of Dance and Movement, Greg Woodsbie, Nancy Hughes, and Ossia New Music. The event will activate three spaces on the University of Rochester’s river campusSage Art Center, Frontispace/Rush Rhees Library, and Hartnett Gallery.

RESPONSE is supported by UCIS ARTS@UR. Special thanks to Missy Pfohl Smith.

Schedule

3/28 Sage Art Center

Sage Art Center, 835 Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627 (between Anderson and Wilder towers)

2pm Artist talk by John Halpern

3/29 Sage Art Center

Sage Art Center, 835 Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627 (between Anderson and Wilder towers)

5pm-9pm SAGEFEST 13 and artist reception for Remixes

5:15pm Zine workshop
6pm Performance by Daniel Melo Morales
7:15pm Performance by BIODANCE and Greg Woodsbie
8pm Printmaking workshop

3/30 Frontispace/Rush Rhees Library

Rush Rhees Library, 755 Library Rd, Rochester, NY 14627 (ground floor of Rush Rhees)

1pm-1:45pm Performance by UR faculty in the Program of Dance and Movement and Ossia New Music
(Begins in Rush Rhees Library hallways and ends in Frontispace)
2pm Artist talk by Daniel Melo Morales
(Kessler Forum, iZone, Rush Rhees Library)
2:30pm-3:30pm Artist reception for A Shift Into
by Daniel Melo Morales (Frontispace is at the entrance to the Art and Music Library)

3/31 Hartnett Gallery

Hartnett Gallery, 201 Wilson Commons, Rochester, NY 14627 (second floor of Wilson Commons)

4pm-7pm Artist reception for Response: Undergraduate Juried Exhibition with juror Colleen Buzzard
4:30pm Performance by Nancy Hughes and Greg Woodsbie