{"id":270812,"date":"2017-09-22T16:20:17","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T20:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=270812"},"modified":"2017-11-09T10:31:07","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T15:31:07","slug":"university-builds-bridges-community-fringe-fest-270812","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/university-builds-bridges-community-fringe-fest-270812\/","title":{"rendered":"University builds bridges to community through Fringe Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cOn the Verge of the Outermost Edge of US,\u201d part of this year’s KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival, is directed by Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, a lecturer in the Program of Dance and Movement. (photo by Kevin Colton)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Students in the arts and humanities at Rochester are accustomed to conversations about difficult and controversial issues. This year, several faculty and alumni are bringing their unique takes on those conversations out into the community as part of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival.<\/a><\/p>\n

For some, such as Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, a lecturer in the Program of Dance and Movement<\/a>, engaging audiences outside the University is a regular part of the job.<\/p>\n

\"Community<\/a>\u201cMost of what I do is either community engaged creative projects or shows based on some sort of sociopolitical idea that I\u2019m chewing over,\u201d says Beauchamp, director of the dance theater performance \u201cOn the Verge of the Outermost Edge of US.\u201d<\/p>\n

The performance, which took place on September 14 and 15 at the City of Rochester\u2019s School of the Arts, explores the mass movements of people and ideas taking place around the world. Beauchamp was joined by three other faculty members in the dance and movement program: director Missy Pfohl Smith, senior lecturer Anne Harris Wilcox and adjunct instructor Michelle Gipner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask the audience members a few questions to ponder over, along the lines of, given the political partisanship\u201d that permeates so many national debates, \u201cwhat else can we do?\u201d says Beauchamp. The responses from the audience were written down and clipped on a set piece on stage. The dancers read them at the close of the show.<\/p>\n

Because the festival doesn\u2019t place limits on material or content, it also attracts \u201cperformers\u201d from the University in disciplines one might not expect\u2014such as religion and classics<\/a>. Emil Homerin, a professor of religion and chair of the department, participated as a moderator in TableTopOpera\u2019s performance, \u201cWithin the Quota.\u201d<\/p>\n