Opportunities

Funding up to $10,000 per project.

Submissions for proposals are welcome from one or more adjunct or full-time professors at the University of Rochester throughout the academic year, starting from the first day of fall semester through two weeks before the last day of the spring semester.

This opportunity is open to all departments, provided that the proposed project is centrally focused on the performing arts. The proposal must involve the School of Arts and Sciences Performing Arts collaborator in a significant way.

Applications are continuously accepted and funded on a rolling basis. The maximum funding allocated for a single project is generally $10,000, with most grants awarded at a level of $5,000.

If awarded, department/program administrators are responsible for overseeing all project logistics (i.e., any relevant guest/speaker travel, housing, hospitality, payment processing, etc.).

Upon completion of the project, awardees must submit a final report.

Projects included in regular department budgets, such as mainstage shows and student concerts, are ineligible for funding. Only projects outside of recurring annual or semester performances will be considered. Special projects that enhance regular programming will be considered.

Applicants should clearly outline the project’s objectives, the student and/or community impact, the methods to achieve them, and explain why the proposed format (i.e., lecture, performance, etc.) is most suitable for success. Submissions must be made at least three weeks before the first proposed event date to allow for flexibility and responsiveness to current events, while also maintaining the integrity of the review process.

Project deadlines are October 15 for spring semester projects, and March 15 for fall semester projects.

Accepted grantees will be notified directly and will receive an acceptance agreement to complete and return.

2025-2026 Recipients

Todd Talks

Nigel Maister
October 6, October 27, and December 1, 2025 
February 9, and March 2, 2026

The IPA and the Schwartz Performing Arts Fund supports Todd Talks—a online speaker series from the URochester International Theatre Program—which invites top artists from the worlds of theatre and film to be in conversation with our students and our communities.  Guests include multi-award-winners and nominees for Obie, Tony, Olivier and other prestigious awards. To find out more or to register for one of these talks, visit theatre’s Todd Talks page.

Note: The Todd Talks page includes all of the information outlined on the poster, for those who'd like to use a screen reader to access the poster content. 

Ephrat Asherie Dance - Shadow Cities

Missy Pfohl Smith
February 4 to 7, 2026

Ephrat Asherie Dance brings its acclaimed new work Shadow Cities to the University of Rochester—a vibrant collaboration with Grammy-winning jazz composer Arturo O’Farrill that fuses street and club dance with original Latin jazz. The residency includes a public performance with Q&A, an open rehearsal, and community workshops, culminating in Asherie’s role as guest judge for the 14th Annual inspireJAM All-Styles 2v2 Battle. Exploring identity, memory, and cultural connection, Shadow Cities celebrates the energy of the in-between—where movement, music, and community converge.

Consent ROCs

Sara Bickweat Penner
Spring 2026

Consent ROCs is a research study and community engaged project where researchers are co-designing Consent Forward Theatre Workshops with high school Rochester area theatre educators based on the specific needs of their students. These workshops will be taught onsite at high schools by researchers and UR Theatre student mentors in spring 2026 as part of a community engaged course.  

This project is made possible in part by the University of Rochester’s Schwartz Performing Arts Fund of the Institute for Performing Arts and the Center for Community Engagement. If you and your school are interested in being a part of this study, please contact Sara Bickweat Penner or Lindsay Warren Baker for more information at sara.penner@rochester.edu. 

Dance On Film

Tristan Bass-Krueger, Xuechun Lyu and George Elkind
Spring 2026

This is a three-event series exploring the intersection of film and dance, showcasing dancers who use film or video in creative ways during live performances, or who push the boundaries of capturing movement on camera. 

Dance On Film spans from fall of 2025 through the spring of 2026. Each event is organized by a graduate student from within the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies in collaboration with the Program of Dance and Movement. The first of their three events, Eiko Otake: A Body in Places, was a film screening with live Zoom discussion with the artist, took place during the ESL Rochester Fringe Festival on September 19, 2025. Eiko Otake will return to the URochester campus for a performance February 12 at 8 p.m., and to teach a "Delicious Movement” Workshop on February 13, both in Spurrier Dance Studio.

Daniel Pesca Orchestra Commission - Up North: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

Mark Powell
March - April, 2026

Eastman School of Music faculty composer Daniel Pesca premieres a new piano concerto written for collegiate and civic orchestra forces. The University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra (URSO)—now in its 70th season—will perform the work with Pesca as soloist. Co-commissioned with the Idaho State Symphony, this project celebrates collaboration, community musicianship, and the vibrant tradition of University-based orchestral performance.

The Hallowed Crown

Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp
March 29 - April 4, 2026

The Hallowed Crown is an interdisciplinary dance and performance project exploring identity, power, and transformation through the Crone archetype—a force of disruption and renewal. Created by Andrea Gluckman, Paul Leary, Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, and Lowell Hutcheson, the work fuses dance, music, theatre, and visual art into an immersive experience that reimagines community beyond patriarchal and binary structures. Through myth, ritual, and striking visual design, The Hallowed Crown invites audiences and students alike to engage with themes of liberation, rebirth, and collective transformation.

The Christians

Nigel Maister
April 23 - May 2, 2026

The University of Rochester’s International Theatre Program presents Lucas Hnath’s acclaimed play The Christians in spring 2026—a compelling exploration of faith, doubt, and belonging in contemporary America. Set in a modern mega-church, the production features a gospel choir led by Julius Dicks (Arthur Satz Department of Music and Music Director at Baber AME Church), uniting URochester students and local community artists. This collaboration bridges campus and community, offering mentorship, shared artistry, and a powerful reflection on conviction, inclusivity, and spiritual identity.

A Body in Places – Eiko Otake

Tristan Bass-Krueger, Xuechun Lyu and George Elkind
September 19, 2025

Celebrated movement-based, interdisciplinary artist Eiko Otake made her Rochester debut with an evening that merged film and dialogue. Known for her decades-long collaboration as Eiko & Koma—a partnership that earned a MacArthur “Genius” Award—Eiko now creates and performs solo works that respond powerfully to ecological and human crises.

As part of Dance On Film, this screening shared some of Eiko's recent, visually striking works, including A Body in Tokyo. Born in Japan and based in New York since 1976, Eiko’s boundary-pushing work has earned her MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, a Bessie, and a Dance Magazine Award.

Dance On Film is a three-event series, of which Eiko Otake was the first, that spans from fall of 2025 through the spring of 2026. Each event is organized by a graduate student from within the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies in collaboration with the Program of Dance and Movement.

2024-2025 Awardee: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

The University of Rochester’s Program of Dance and Movement welcomed the acclaimed contemporary dance company A.I.M by Kyle Abraham for a dynamic residency that combined performance, education, and community engagement. Under the artistic direction of Kyle Abraham—a visionary choreographer celebrated for blending traditional and vernacular dance styles—A.I.M explores themes rooted in Black and queer history and culture through a distinctive and highly physical movement vocabulary.

The residency included a powerful lecture demonstration, during which company members created live, improvised choreography, shared excerpts from the company’s repertoire, and engaged in thoughtful dialogue with the audience.

Company artist Faith Montdesire also led two A.I.M Movement Workshops: one on the University of Rochester campus and another at Community Place at the Greater Rochester Senior Center. These workshops fostered inclusive, intergenerational participation among students and older adults.