Rochester City Ballet welcomes eight dancers to the Company
Rochester City Ballet Artistic Directors Megan Kamler & Shannon Rodriguez announce the 2024–2025 season roster. The Company includes a roster of 16 professional dancers from around the nation. One dancer joins the main Company, five Apprentices, and two Junior Apprentices.
“We have an extremely talented roster of dancers at Rochester City Ballet this season, and we are thrilled to welcome these new Company members and Apprentices from around the country,” said Artistic Director Megan Kamler. “I am looking forward to seeing them shine in our diverse season that showcases the best of ballet with beloved classical favorites and exciting premieres. Our audiences will enjoy watching and getting to know the dancers and what they will bring to our versatile repertoire.”
Rochester City Ballet welcomes eight new dancers to the Company: Olivia Bevilacqua (Rochester, NY), Samantha Goodelle (Charlotte, North Carolina), Lily Janneck (Maui, Hawaii), Elizabeth Pinel (Sarasota, Florida), Sofia Stitz (Dumont, New Jersey), Marlena Roberts (Baltimore, Maryland), Jessica Bealer (Reading, Pennsylvania), and Sophia Barnard-Decann (Rochester, NY).
Introducing the eight new dancers for the 2024/2025 Season!
Olivia Bevilacqua
Rochester, NY
Company Dancer
Marlena Roberts
Baltimore, Maryland
Apprentice
Lily Janneck
Maui, Hawaii
Apprentice
Samantha Goodelle
Charlotte, North Carolina
Apprentice
Elizabeth Pinel
Sarasota, Florida
Apprentice
Sofia Stitz
Dumont, New Jersey
Apprentice
Sophia Barnard-Decann
Rochester, NY
Junior Apprentice
Jessica Bealer
Reading, Pennsylvania
Junior Apprentice
Rochester City Ballet announces 2024|2025 Season
ROCHESTER, NY – Rochester City Ballet is proud to present performance details for their upcoming 2024-2025 season. Experience beloved traditions, riveting world premieres, and inspiring stories of love, unison, and magic in a season in which the future of the company is defined.
Honoring their history and celebrating a promising future, Rochester City Ballet’s 37th year is filled with the best of classical and contemporary ballet, showcasing the incredible versatility of the artists. Our 24-25 season continues to uphold the reputation of Rochester City Ballet as a leader in the arts community.
The new season officially launches in September, but RCB encourages patrons to join them for their summer performances at various local venues to be announced. Dancers of Rochester City Ballet are thrilled to bring back the third annual Booze N’ Ballet event at Kin Event Space on August 31st, an evening that celebrates local creations.
Agua Fresca
September 2024 | School of the Arts
We open our season at the Rochester Fringe Festival with the world premiere of Agua Fresca. Choreographed by Aldo Katton, Agua Fresca opens a path for connection and celebration of Latin-American communities. The Afro-Caribbean influences and poetry of the Spanish language will fill your ears with words that ring and melt simultaneously.
The evening also features a world premiere by Artistic Director, Megan Kamler. So On, and So Forth is inspired by the trials and tribulations of women in the arts and the merits of being female in today's day and age. So On, and So Forth demonstrates themes of connection, isolation, unison, and support. The music and the fluidity of this new piece of contemporary ballet will inspire audience members of all ages.
The Nutcracker - Celebrating 25 Years
November + December 2024 | Eastman Theatre
Join us for Rochester’s favorite holiday tradition, The Nutcracker. Whirling snowflakes, marching soldiers, and waltzing flowers are the perfect highlight to every family's winter festivities. This season, the company celebrates the 25th anniversary with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Embark on an enchanting journey alongside Clara, who ventures from her bedroom into the wondrous realm of The Land of Sweets. Perfect for ballet and theatre lovers of all ages, The Nutcracker will immerse you in an unforgettable experience that reignites the childlike wonder within each and every one of us.
Help us celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Nutcracker with the RPO!
Carnival of the Animals & Other Tales
February 2025 | Fort Hill Performing Arts Center
We jump into the new year with a new take on Carnival of the Animals. This family-friendly ballet is set to Camille Saint-Saëns’ humorous musical suite of 14 movements. The work features whimsical costumes and narration from the delightful Ogden Nash poem. Celebrating creatures from the ponderous elephant to the manic kangaroo, to the plodding tortoise, this ballet is sure to be a favorite for adults and children of all ages.
VISIONARY: A Mixed Bill
February 2025 | RIT Panara Theatre
This sampler of classical and contemporary movement features a world-premiere work by Artistic Director Shannon Rodriguez, Paint My Dream. This cosmic, “mixed media” ballet inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” creates a celestial and interdisciplinary viewing experience for audience members.
VISIONARY is a wonderful opportunity for both dance enthusiasts and newcomers to experience a variety of artistic voices. Paired with Jared Allan Brunson’s Into the Blue, and Aldo Katton’s Agua Fresca, this captivating mixed bill offers audience members an opportunity to experience three new works that showcase the future of ballet.
Anastasia: With The Society for Chamber Music
May 2025 | Nazareth University
The clear headliner for Rochester City Ballet’s 2024/2025 season is a beautiful, brand- new production of Anastasia with the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, choreographed by Artistic Directors Megan Kamler & Shannon Rodriguez. Based on the intriguing historical mystery, Anastasia revolves around the rumors that the Grand Duchess has escaped the execution of the royal family during the Russian Revolution.
Based on this hearsay, the Grand Duchess offers a reward for Anastasia's return. Hoping to pawn off an imposter, two scheming Russians hold auditions to choose an orphan girl with a remarkable resemblance to the missing princess. They bring her to Paris for the reward, not knowing she's the real Anastasia. You won’t want to miss the chance to see this beloved story brought to life by Rochester City Ballet and the Society for Chamber Music.
With such a rich variety of stories to tell, Rochester City Ballet’s 2024-2025 season will be unforgettable.
Rochester City Ballet gets a new look
The new logo is the first step in redefining Rochester City Ballet’s brand.
Local Graphic Designer and artist Brendan Prince has designed a new logo and identity for Rochester City Ballet. This reworked identity is the first step in a process of rebranding the company (founded in 1987).
“Overall, the current logo feels dated and does not accurately reflect the essence of Rochester City Ballet and the direction the brand is heading. "Rochester" is secondary to "City Ballet." We want equal hierarchy of the full name. I wanted the overall look-and-feel of Rochester City Ballet to feel elegant, strong, and timeless.” -says Prince.
Rochester’s premier ballet company has become a nationally significant dance company and a cherished cultural institution in the Finger Lakes region.
Newly appointed Artistic Directors Megan Kamler and Shannon Rodriguez plan to continue to elevate the artistic vision of Rochester City Ballet with a renewed approach of innovation, inclusion, impact and collaboration to drive the company’s artistic excellence to even greater heights.”
Our new logo, rolling out today, represents the exciting work we do and symbolizes the evolution of the company. The logo was designed with careful consideration of our company’s values, history, and vision for the future” says Rodriguez.
The rebranding is driven by a desire to reflect changes in artistic direction and showcase innovation in choreography and performances. Ballet is an art form that has deep-rooted traditions, but in order to stay relevant in today’s fast-paced world, Rochester City Ballet has chosen to modernize their image.