Rochester City Ballet and RIT present ‘Visionary’

Rochester City Ballet is teaming up with Rochester Institute of Technology to present “Visionary,” a four-piece showcase of classical and contemporary movement, including a world premiere version of Boléro.

One of the show’s productions features eight students from RIT’s School of Performing Arts Dance Collective. “Visionary” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 and 22 and 2 p.m. Feb. 23 in RIT’s Robert F. Panara Theatre, a theater the ballet company regularly performed in 20 years ago. Tickets may be purchased through RIT’s University Arenas.

“RIT’s School of Performing Arts has been actively building relationships with organizations in Rochester as we seek to provide our students with access to the city’s rich cultural offerings,” said School Director Erica Haskell. “We are also eager to welcome local audiences to our new performing arts venues on campus.”

Haskell called RIT’s partnership with Rochester City Ballet multifaceted. Students are not only performing in “Visionary,” they have also performed in the ballet’s The Nutcracker performances.

“Company dancers teach a number of our courses in the SHED dance studio, including our audition-only Dance Collective,” Haskell said. “We look forward to exploring new collaborations as our connections to Rochester City Ballet and other organizations grow.”

Katherine Duffy, one of the company’s dancers and an adjunct professor of ballet for RIT’s School of Performing Arts, said she enjoys working with the dedicated dance students.

“They truly love the art form,” Duffy said. “Every time I throw choreography at them, they watch it and come in knowing it and ready to move on and explore more. We’re all excited about this opportunity.”

Sixteen members of the ballet company will perform in the mixed bill, which offers an opportunity for both dance enthusiasts and newcomers to experience a diverse range of artistic voices. “Visionary” will also feature Birth of Angels and Agua Fresca, offering different choreographic styles.

Shannon Purpura is the show’s choreographer and Megan Kamler is a soloist in the production. Both are also adjunct professors of dance at RIT.

Duffy, a 2024 graduate of RIT’s School of Individualized Study who focused on non-profit management, now teaches at RIT. She’s also a dancer and director of development for the ballet company. She hopes more ties with RIT can be established in the future.

“We are becoming a part of the community through outreach and involvement with the students,” she said. “We’re working toward more collaboration, where we have professional dancers on campus and students in our performances.”

One of the eight RIT students in the production is Katie Miller, a third-year chemistry major from Eagan, Minn. She is a Performing Arts Scholar, has a minor in dance and has been involved in performing arts with RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf since her first semester.

“This will be our first large-scale production together,” Miller said. “Being able to watch the Rochester City Ballet dancers is incredible. They give me something to aspire to. Working alongside them is even better. I have to push myself harder than ever before, but have also achieved more than I ever imagined I could. Dancing alongside professional company members is more than I ever dreamed.”

Miller started dancing when she was 3 and has trained in many styles of dance over the years, “but ballet has always had a special place in my heart,” she said. “I enjoy and admire the great strength it takes to make the dance look easy and beautiful.”

Miller looks forward to the performances and hopes the audience will appreciate the RIT students in it are scientists and engineers and pursuing academically rigorous degrees. “We are also here to create art and enjoy the beautiful things in life,” she said.

Duffy hopes audience members, whether they are seasoned veterans or watching their first ballet, come away with feeling that “Rochester City Ballet is energized, fresh, and ready to be part of the community. We love Rochester and this new relationship with RIT is exciting.”