More than 55 students are involved in the Merrins Fall Chamber Concert.
Students, faculty and a guest artist will pool their dance talents for SUNY Fredonia’s annual Merrins Fall Chamber Concert.
Four performances take place from Nov. 6 to 9 in the James and Marcia Merrins Dance Theatre of Rockefeller Arts Center on the Fredonia campus. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6; Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 9.
Tickets are available online 24/7Tickets may also be purchased on Monday, Wednesday or Friday by phone at (716) 673-3501 or in person at the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Merrins Chamber Concert, which is part of the New Works Series by the Department of Theatre and Dance, features more than 60 people with 26 student dancers, 10 understudies, four faculty choreographers, a guest artist choreographer and a production team of 20.
“It’s growing every year,” said Director Angela DiFiore, a Fredonia Dance faculty member who doubles as a choreographer for the production.
DiFiore noted all three performances sold out in 2024, so a fourth date was added for this season.
The guest artist this season is Destiny Hernandez-Diaz, a Fredonia alumna and New York City-based choreographer who has created a work to Hip Hop music that represents her experiences growing up in the Bronx. The work contains explicit content.
New Fredonia Dance faculty member Parisha Rajbhandari has choreographed an ensemble piece for the concert.
“This piece is being formed through the understanding that our bodies are maps to lived, learned and experienced knowledge that flow in and out through our embodiment,” she said. “We are not alone, even when one is physically alone. We carry memories, ancestors, lands, energies and much more. How do our bodies move with these unseen forces? And how do we move amongst each other, fully seeing each other for each of our complexities? This dance is rooted in the cyclical nature of connection, and community.”
DiFiore said Rajbhandari’s piece will represent Fredonia at the American College Dance Association conference in February 2026.
Two Fredonia alumni who are now adjunct faculty members have also choreographed pieces for the concert.
Lecturer Briana Blair Kelly has created an Irish-Contemporary Fusion titled “When the Heart Finds Its Rhythm Again.”
“It follows an individual’s journey to discover how sorrow and joy can coexist within grief,” she said. “I’m unsure which pain is worse — the shock of what happened or the ache for what never will. But within our broken hearts, sorrow and joy can coexist. Grab hold of life and let it pull you forward.”
Adjunct Professor Charles Fuller has created a Contemporary piece titled “Fleeting Hope of Tomorrow” that he said “focuses on the concept of how hope ebbs and flows in its proximity to us. It is both near and far at all times.”
Rounding out the program is a piece by DiFoire on the theme of “women, mothers and those who provide motherly care.”
DiFoire said storytelling is an important part of the Merrins Chamber Concert.
“This year, there is a tremendous energy to the program,” she noted.
The director said the Merrins Dance Theatre itself plays an important role in the production.
“It’s such a special place for framing dance,” DiFiore said. “The dancers have the audience right in front of theme, which creates an energy — and the audience gets to see everything in great detail.”
Auditions for the Merrins Fall Chamber Concert were open to all Fredonia students. Likewise, auditions for the Fredonia Dance Ensemble Concert in the spring will be open to all. The Dance Ensemble auditions take place from 5:30 to 9 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the Merrins Dance Theatre. Students are encouraged to arrive at 5 p.m. to fill out audition forms, sign dancer contracts, and to warm up
