Rochester Fringe Festival: Carnival of the Animals
*The event has already taken place on this date: Fri, 09/20/2024
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A beloved and entertaining classic, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals is a musical portrait of various animals – including a lion, an elephant, and a swan. Narrator Jay Stetzer describes the animals in words with his own humorous take on a text by Ogden Nash. BIODANCE dancers join Cordancia musicians with choreography by Missy Pfohl Smith and costumes by Natalia Lisina.
Compass is a solo dance work that premiered in June 2024, inspired by Paul Klee’s painting “Strong Dream.” The piece features dancer Alaina Olivieri and new quadrophonic music (surround sound) by Austin White. This non-narrative, dynamic, and edgy work plays with sound, light, and movement as if a “deer in headlights,” a metaphor for someone in a mental state of high arousal caused by anxiety, fear, panic, surprise, or confusion.
The carnival concludes with Darius Milhaud’s Le Boeuf sur le toit (The Ox on the Roof), performed by Cordancia and further enhanced by visuals by Digital Media/Projection Artist W. Michelle Harris. Playful interjections of Brazilian tangos and other dance tunes surround a lively theme which opens this piece and recurs throughout.
“This diverse show has something for everyone,” says Cordancia co-founder and oboist Kathleen Suher. “The portraits of animals in words, music, and dance make it a great choice for families. With live music performed by Cordancia Chamber Orchestra, the show would also be a great choice for classical music lovers.”
Cordancia Chamber Orchestra performs classical music concerts throughout the year at various locations in the greater Rochester area. Their award-winning programming blends eclectic, vibrant, lesser-known music with traditional classical repertoire.
BIODANCE is a contemporary repertory dance company based in Rochester, NY, and directed by Missy Pfohl Smith, who also directs the Institute for the Performing Arts and the Program of Dance and Movement at University of Rochester.
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