original works as “In You is Home” and “I Won’t Dance.” Learn more about One Dance Company by searching its name on Facebook, or by emailing onedanceco@gmail.com. (RR)
Best Use of a Found Space The Yards
Now celebrating its first anniversary, collaborative art space The Yards is the brainchild of artists Sarah C. Rutherford and Lea Rizzo, who are also members of the art collective, The Sweet Meat Co. The space above Flour City Bread Co. in the Public Market was raw when they found it, and was the site of the collective’s second group installation, “Welcome to Sweetsville,” which just hinted at how the group was capable of challenging the way we think about unused spaces and cast-off materials. In the past year, The Yards has hosted art exhibitions, dance performances, poetry readings, film screenings, ice-cream socials, private parties, and the Gezellig dinner series, which incorporates visual art, food, and a performance. In addition, The Yards was the main hub of activity for this summer’s “Wall/Therapy” mural project, which centered at the Market. Rutherford, Rizzo, and their family of artistic collaborators and supporters are proving what wonderful potential a small space and a lot of heart can offer. For more information, visit attheyards.com. (RR)
Best Therapeutic Dance Kinections
Tucked away in a small dance studio next to Writers & Books on University Avenue is Kinections, a center for dance therapy run by Dr. Danielle Fraenkel, an internationally recognized expert in what is still a relatively new field. During her workshops, students are guided through using movement and dance as the form in which to access and express emotional truths. The purpose is for them to then go on and use that kinesthetic self-knowledge for personal growth and advancement, expanding their movement repertoires and pushing past perceived boundaries. The American Dance Therapy Association defines dance/movement therapy as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process that furthers the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual.” Interestingly, dance therapy was first used in the United States during the 1940’s by psychiatric hospitals attempting to provide unreachable patients with alternate means of communication and expression. More recently, it has shown
particular success as a therapy in working with victims of sexual and other forms of abuse, as well as with patients with eating disorders. In Fraenkel’s workshops, people from all walks of life gather simply to move, feel, and learn how to more fully inhabit their bodies. They may be given exercises in which they “become” another material — clay or wire, for instance — in order to explore how physical boundaries can be malleable or fixed. Music, discussion, individual and group work are all part of a class at Kinections. Being a dancer is not a prerequisite. Desired outcomes for students include better management of stress, building confidence, improving relationships, succeeding in interviews and presentations, and breaking through blocks. Fraenkel is a New York State licensed creative arts therapist and licensed mental health counselor. She holds an M.A. in dance movement therapy, The high-flying dance company Bandaloop kicked off the and a second M.A. and a Ph.D. with inaugural Rochester Fringe Festival with pure spectacle. a specialization in counseling from the PHOTO by matt deturck University of Rochester. Kinections, Both in the scope of the acts and the established by Fraenkel in 1984, is the huge crowd it drew night after night, the only institute in the country that is not Fringe Festival has shown that Rochester attached to a university yet still offers all the has the ability, and the drive, to support dance/movement therapy courses required another massive arts festival, and that we for certification by the American Dance have just as much pizzazz as any of those Therapy Association. Fraenkel also teaches other cities that have been having Fringe dance therapy at the University of Rochester Festivals for years. Here’s hoping Fringe and is the dance/movement therapist for only gets better for Year 2, continuing to The Healing Connection, a program for grow and foster the creative community people struggling with eating disorders. that exists here in Rochester. (WC) Class listings, descriptions and schedules can be found on the organization’s website: kinections.com. (CC)
Best New Festival Rochester Fringe Festival
Putting on a successful festival requires a lot of work, and after being spoiled for many years by the widely successful Rochester International Jazz Festival, Rochester as a city can forget sometimes just how hard it is to start a new one and have it get off the ground running. There’s the basic logistical issues, the funding, selecting acts to come and groups to perform, and then of course, getting people out to enjoy what the festival has to offer. So it’s a huge accomplishment that the first year of the Rochester Fringe Festival — which took over downtown Rochester in mid-September — was, by and large, very successful, especially for a brand new festival that focuses on what’s outside the norm. And I mean that in a good way.
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Best Cool New Venue Tala Vera
So you’re a musician who likes it spicy, you like it rockin’. No need to burn up a lot of gas stringing together a series of venues to make your night complete. Rather, head downtown and over to Tala Vera (155 State St., 546-3845, tala-vera.com) for some excellent Mexican grub with a California flair. Tala Vera is an intimate setting to get close and personal to the one your with, and the music on the stage. The captain of this ship, bossman Bernie Williams, has the stage wired for recording, so you can go home with proof of your scorching set. And Tala Vera streams a live video feed so your show can go global. Last but not least is dessert. Try a xango — the Mexican answer to canoli . (FD)
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