Arts & Life

It’s Day Two of the ninth KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival. And due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s entirely online. 

Of the arts, dance has been hit hard. All of that heavy breathing and tossing of fellow dancers. COVID-19 and social distancing forced Garth Fagan Dance to bring an early end to this season, which was to be a celebration of Fagan’s 50th year in the Rochester area.

But Rochester’s BIODANCE has embraced the virtual performance. There was no other choice. Read on for more on that, as well as a look at a few shows from Day One of Rochester Fringe.

It’s opening day of the ninth KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival. But after eight years of growth -- more than 100,000 people attended last year’s event -- the coronavirus pandemic dictates that this one will be presented entirely online. 

Coming up over the next two days are shows with smart people fretting over the future, lost legends and film critics who drink too much. Or maybe not enough. 

You’ll find the Fringe schedule and ticket information at rochesterfringe.com.

Sally Louise originally moved to Rochester to study at the Eastman School of Music, but as the spring term wound down and the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up, she decided it was time for a change.

The classically trained soprano is now a full time singer/songwriter, and her single "Bodily Exile" is now available on digital platforms.

One year ago, the giant fantasy undersea visions of Plasticiens Volants’ French inflatables bobbed and weaved in the crisp fall air over the heads of thousands of people on Rochester’s Parcel 5. London’s Massaoke karaoke singalong of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” echoed off the sides of downtown buildings. 

Big-name comedians, mainly at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, have been a major part of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival though its first eight years. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, that kind of show is not in the plans this year when the event opens next week.

Shannon Reilly and Tom Torrisi are Duo Purla, and they miss performing live. They've done virtual performance, and they're doing another one...here on HomeStage. This song is a collaboration with Buffalo-based composer Edgar Girtain.

A piano previously owned, played, and signed by Grammy-winning musician Alicia Keys is making its way to its new home at The Avenue Blackbox Theatre on Joseph Avenue.

Fellow musician and Rochester native Andy Nahas successfully bid on the cerulean blue Boston 126E upright piano, designed by Steinway & Sons, at an auction to benefit the charity MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund, which received $35,000 in the sale, to go toward lessening the pandemic’s financial toll on individuals in the music industry.