{"id":345202,"date":"2018-10-22T16:14:16","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T20:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=345202"},"modified":"2023-05-17T10:54:55","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T14:54:55","slug":"qa-with-director-of-the-institute-for-performing-arts-345202","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/qa-with-director-of-the-institute-for-performing-arts-345202\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with the Director of the Institute for the Performing Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Missy Pfohl Smith, the new director of the Institute for the Performing Arts, received her MFA in choreography and performance from Sarah Lawrence College. A native of Buffalo, she studied and worked as an apprentice for the Erick Hawkins Dance Company in the early 1990s in New York City.\u00a0 She was a founding company member of Randy James Dance Works while in New York <\/em>and toured nationally and internationally through 2003. In 2002 Smith founded BIODANCE, a contemporary dance company committed to the creation and performance of dance through collaboration with multi-disciplinary artists.<\/em><\/p>\n

After working in NYC for 12 years, she relocated to Rochester in 2004. BIODANCE\u2014which premiered a new evening length work this past September about which Rochester City News pro<\/em>claimed \u201c<\/em>every bit of the performance was an absolute masterpiece\u201d\u2014performs repertory by a roster of internationally recognized choreographers including Smith, Bill Evans, Randy Jam<\/em>es, Ivy Baldwin, and Heidi Latsky. In addition to leading the institute, she continues to serve as the director of the Program of Dance and Movement.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the new director of the Institute for the Performing Arts, what do you envision for its future? <\/strong>
\nFor one thing, I\u2019m interested in sharing ideas and collaborating with all people involved. The Institute for the Performing Arts is an initiative of Arts, Sciences & Engineering, and it encompasses the Program of Dance and Movement, the International Theatre Program, and the College Music program. The Eastman School of Music is a big part of performing arts at the University, so they\u2019re under that umbrella as well, but the focus is what\u2019s going on at the River Campus.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also been meeting with people like Julia Maddox, director of the Barbara J. Burger iZone, and Joan Rubin, director of the Humanities Center. I\u2019ve met with the people in the library who work in the arts. I\u2019ve also connected with the Arts in Mind Program <\/a>at Medical Center, whose goal is to enrich the educational experience at the University by integrating fine arts with studies in humanities and sciences. Lots of people have ideas, and we\u2019re discussing those.<\/p>\n

We will continue some existing programs as well. For example, we\u2019ll continue to bring students to see professional performances, but I think we\u2019ll curate that in a slightly different way\u2014in a way that can connect to some of what we\u2019re doing curricularly and to the work we\u2019re doing creatively on our campus.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also planning to communicate more. I have so many ideas, but we don\u2019t have a huge budget yet. We don\u2019t have a \u201cstore front;\u201d however, the Sloan Performing Arts Center is on its way to being built and we\u2019re in weekly conversations with the architects now. This is a very exciting time for the performing arts at UR!<\/p>\n

What are the biggest challenges you face?<\/strong> I think matching the expectations with the realities. I think some of what my job will be is to garner some support for the Institute, because even though there is support right now, we need to build up our financial resources. I would love to be able to have a conference that is centered on the arts and citizenship, or performing arts and some thematic material that also reflects our values here at the University. I think bringing scholars and other artists from other Universities in the field will also help put us on the map. This will take some planning, it\u2019s not something we can do in a few months, but it\u2019s something I\u2019m interested in doing.<\/p>\n

What can you tell us about the new Sloan Performing Arts Center? <\/strong>
\nI can tell you that the discussions are underway. The architect has been meeting with each entity (dance, theater, music) separately. It\u2019s going to be a theater that can accommodate theater, dance, and music, and there will be a scene shop, a costume shop, and a conditioning lab\u2014which is one of the things dance requested. We also asked that the theater space function as a studio space, so when it\u2019s not being used for performances, it can be used for classes, rehearsals, or other things like that. They\u2019re moving pretty quickly and they seem to be integrating all of our ideas. I think it\u2019s going to look beautiful, and it\u2019s going to really bolster River Campus arts!<\/p>\n

Coming events in the Institute for the Performing Arts<\/h3>\n