Both BIODANCE and Vision of Sound celebrate their 20th Anniversaries in 2026. BIODANCE premiered a new quartet, choreographed by Missy Pfohl Smith in collaboration with dancers Sarah Johnson, Nanako Horikawa Mandrino, Alaina Olivieri, and Donetta Tchoroleev. The new work shares a title with the score by Mark Olivieri, Artifacts of a Valiant Past (for Neva). The premiere was at The College at Brockport’s Hartwell Dance Theater on Feb. 19, 2026, followed by a show at Onondaga Community College on Feb. 20. Vision of Sound was at RIT’s Glassbox Theater Saturday, Feb. 21, and at Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ Gearan Arts Center on Feb. 22! It was a wonderful concert of live music and live dance by choreographers including BIODANCE/Missy Pfohl Smith, Elton Ward, Cat Olsen, Rochester City Ballet/Shannon Purpura, Sarah Jacobs, Kelly Johnson, and Marisa Ballaro.
BIODANCE premiered QUIET/LOUD, a choreographic work by Missy Pfohl Smith in collaboration with dancers Biviana Beckaroo, Sarah Johnson, and Donetta Tchoroleev, with music by Amy Nam, commissioned by fivebyfive chamber ensemble. The work premiered at the Smith Theater in Sloan Performing Arts Center at the University of Rochester on October 18 and 19, 2026.
Wander & Wonder is a site-specific performance that takes place outdoors on the beautiful grounds of the Rochester Museum & Science Center, curated by Ethan Beckwith-Cohen and Missy Pfohl Smith/BIODANCE. Audiences delight in the work of local dance and music artists, companies, and choreographers, which interacts with nature and the environment in a walking tour of dances. Free and open to all! Donations are always appreciated and support the artists, with a percentage going to a Rochester charity.
In this show, BIODANCE will share a site-specific version of its newest work Turning Point. Choreography: Missy Pfohl Smith in collaboration with the dancers
Performed by Sarah Johnson, an0th3r.l0p3z, Euridece Seche, Donetta Tchoroleev
Music is composed and performed by Floris Van der Veken
Catch & Collide premieres in the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival Sept. 14 and 20, 2025. brings together some of the region’s most inventive choreographers, sharing new dances by Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, Elliot Reza Emadian, Ripp Greatbatch, Natalia Lisina, Missy Pfohl Smith, Mariah Steele, and Anne Wilcox. Join us as we catch, collide, topple, and turn in this extraordinary and thought-provoking contemporary dance collection featuring choreographic premieres and new music! Sunday, Sept. 14 at 11:30am and Saturday, Sept. 20 at 1:30pm.
The work will feature BIODANCE’s newest work Turning Point!
Choreography: Missy Pfohl Smith in collaboration with the dancers
Performed by Sarah Johnson, an0th3r.l0p3z, Euridece Seche, Donetta Tchoroleev
Music is composed and performed by Floris Van der Veken
Video is captured by Missy Pfohl Smith, Andrea Gluckman, Cass Lo, and Bryan Johnson
Wander & Wonder is a site-specific performance that takes place outdoors on the beautiful grounds of the Rochester Museum & Science Center, curated by Ethan Beckwith-Cohen and Missy Pfohl Smith/BIODANCE. Audiences delight in the work of local dance and music artists, companies, and choreographers, which interacts with nature and the environment in a walking tour of dances. Free and open to all! Donations are always appreciated and support the artists, with a percentage going to a Rochester charity.
In this show, BIODANCE will share a site-specific version of its newest work Turning Point. Choreography: Missy Pfohl Smith in collaboration with the dancers
Performed by Sarah Johnson, an0th3r.l0p3z, Euridece Seche, Donetta Tchoroleev
Music is composed and performed by Floris Van der Veken
BIODANCE shares a work-in-progress Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 7:30pm, in Deming Dance Theater at Hobart and William Smith Colleges as part of the Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival. Open to the public/tickets available at the door.
Turning Point features dancers an0th3r.l0p3z, Sarah Johnson, Euridece Seche, Donetta Tchoroleev, with choreography and video/editing by Missy Pfohl Smith, and videography by Andrea Gluckman, Cass Lo, and Bryan Johnson. We are thrilled to be working with composer/saxophonist Floris Van der Veken on this ongoing project.
BIODANCE is deeply grateful to the Rochester Area Community Foundation and the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts’ Aid to Localities program for support of this new work, Turning Point.
Free lunch hour dance series, organized by Natalia Lisina and Donetta Tchoroleev (both BIODANCE dancers) are taking place every Wednesday in June at noon. We are looking forward to sharing various excerpts of our repertory and a new work! Each week features a different program. Join us!
BIODANCE was honored to be invited to perform at the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Evening Out with the Arts on May 14th at Harro East in Rochester, NY! With 11 dynamic performances lined up, we were proud to share an excerpt of our new work-in-progress, Turning Point, a projected film with live performance!
BIODANCE extends heartfelt thanks to the Rochester Area Community Foundation and the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts Aid to Localities program for their generous support of our newest work-in-progress, “Turning Point,” a site-specific film and live performance work that we are developing over all four seasons of the year, capturing video in Rochester’s own Turning Point Park, as we acknowledge the turning point we face with climate change.
Open rehearsals at Turning Point Park are taking place on Feb. 23, 2025, April 6, 2025, and May 26, 2025, from 4-6pm. Additional open rehearsals will be announced. The public is welcome to join us to witness our creative process.
Pictured here: Donetta Tchoroleev, Euridece Seche, and Sarah Johnson (from front to back). Image description: Three women dressed in green winter garb lean forward with arms outstretched, outdoors in the snow.
