November is one of the most crowded months on the Central Florida arts calendar. Here’s a look at a variety of upcoming events across the artistic spectrum to help you make a cultural connection.

Dance

Dancing for Diabetes, presented by Orlando-based nonprofit Touched by Type 1, reaches a milestone 25 years with its 2025 performance. It all began in 2001, when 10-year-old Elizabeth Forrest launched a small dance performance after being diagnoses with type 1 diabetes.

Today, a high-energy, two-hour showcase features award-winning dancers performing hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, tap and more. There also are numbers from hundreds of children, teens and young adults representing dance studios, K-12 schools, and collegiate programs throughout Central Florida.

The goal is to raise awareness of type I diabetes, fund research for a cure and inspire those living with the disease. To that end, one performance features young people living with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder in which the body mistakenly kills the vital insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

The 25th annual Dancing for Diabetes will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando. Tickets start at $29.50 at drphillipscenter.org.

In “Untold Stories,” Emotions Dance and SGP Movement Dance Company aim to shed light on often unspoken challenges of the human condition. The contemporary program will feature work that explores the universal themes of grief, addiction and discrimination, while celebrating the strength required to persevere through life’s struggles.

“’Untold Stories’ is more than a performance: It’s an opportunity to connect with the shared experiences that bind us together,” says Larissa Humiston, artistic director of Emotions Dance. “We want audiences to leave feeling seen, inspired and reminded that none of us is truly alone in our struggles.”

Tickets start at $28.52 for “Untold Stories,” which will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 and 5 p.m. Nov. 9 at the ME Theatre, 1300 La Quinta Drive in Orlando. Go to emotionsdance.org/untoldstories.

Orlando Museum of Art will host a program on the Ocoee Massacre, remembered in this local memorial. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

Art

In conjunction with Orlando Museum of Art’s “Dawoud Bey: Evergreen” exhibition, Orlando Museum of Art and the Alliance for Truth and Justice will present a free community event combining storytelling and art to spotlight the legacy of the 1920 Ocoee Massacre.

The program will include personal stories from descendants of those affected by the massacre, in which at least 50 Black Central Floridians were murdered by a white mob. Justin Lang will perform spoken-word poetry, and anthropoloist Erin Kimmerle of the University of South Florida will speak on forensic research into abandoned Black cemeteries.

Dawoud Bey’s “Evergreen,”  by the way, is a video installation depicting haunting images captured at the Evergreen Plantation of Wallace, Louisiana.

The free Ocoee Massacre program will be 1:30-3 p.m. Nov. 1 at the museum, 2416 N. Mills Ave. in Orlando.

“AI-Off” by artist Decoy Abstract is on view in the exhibition “Summoning the Demon: Art + AI at the Edge of Control” at Solana Fine Art in Winter Park. (Courtesy Solana Fine Art)

While OMA reflects on the past, Solana Fine Art in Winter Park looks to the future — with some trepidation. The gallery will present “Summoning the Demon: Art + AI at the Edge of Control” Nov. 1-15.

Curated by José J. Cabrera and Tangoren Holf, the show brings together Central Florida artists Charles Marklin, Hai Van Truong, Decoy Abstract, Ben Van Beusekom and Russell Bellamy. Their works confront the promise and peril of artificial intelligence as both a creative catalyst and a cultural disruptor.

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The exhibition’s title is inspired by Elon Musk’s cautionary words: “With artificial intelligence, we’re summoning the demon.The show invites viewers to consider where art ends and automation begins.

“The artists in this show aren’t just using AI as a tool; they’re interrogating it,” says Cabrera..”They’re exploring what happens when art, technology and emotion collide in ways we can no longer fully control.”

Solana Fine Art is at 1104 Solana Ave. in Winter Park. More information: solanafineart.com.

Decoy Abstract’s “Human Machine” is part of the exhibition “Summoning the Demon: Art + AI at the Edge of Control” at Solana Fine Art in Winter Park. (Courtesy Solana Fine Art)

Literature

Compagnia de’ Colombari’s “Whitman on Walls!” (WoW!) comes to Winter Park from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 8 in partnership with Rollins College’s Olin Library and the Rollins Museum of Art. Seven short films produced by the New York-based theater company will be paired with original performances by Orlando artists, poets and writers in response to Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” (1855). Their live performances will expand on the poet’s concept of democratic interdependence and provide modern-day context.

The free event takes place on Mills Lawn on the Rollins College campus, 1000 Holt Ave. in Winter Park. Guests are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket.

Compagnia de’ Colombari plans to tour “WoW!” to all 50 states by 2026 in celebration of the 250th anniversary of The Declaration of Independence, with Rollins College selected as the Florida location.

Celebrated American poet Walt Whitman lived from 1819-1892. (Orlando Sentinel file photo)

The local performers are: writer Teege Braune, poets Tyler Gillespie and Amy Watkins, artist Audrey Hope, inaugural Orlando poet laureate Susan Lilley, interdisciplinary artist-educator Leah Sandler and theater director-actor and advocate Felichia Wright.

Before the live performance, the College Archives and Special Collections will host an exhibit in the library lobby from 4–6 p.m., featuring special items from the Walt Whitman Collection and the Rollins College Book Art collection.

Music

Central Floridians have the chance to hear visiting organist Nathan Laube make beautiful music in a concert at 3 p.m. Nov. 9 at First United Methodist Church, 142 E. Jackson St. in Orlando. The organ’s console will roll out to center stage for the concert, giving he audience great views of the playing. .

Laube, a professor of organ at the distinguished Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., has had an extensive performance career at venues across the United States and Europe. He recently performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London. .

The concert is free; donations will be accepted.

Nathan Laube will give an organ recital in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel file photo)

Violinist Gil Shaham will perform with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra once again this season, and the Shaham program includes another return of sorts. Shaham will solo on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto. Later in the concert, music lovers will hear Dylan Hall’s “Scherzo for Orchestra.” That piece won Hall the 2024 National Young Composers Challenge, which takes place right here in Orlando during the annual UCF Celebrates the Arts festival.

“Dylan Hall’s ‘Scherzo for Orchestra’ is a hugely impressive piece for such a young composer,” says Alex Burtzos, who leads the partnership between the Young Composers Challenge and UCF. “It deftly balances wit and humor with moments of sincerity, and it’s exceptionally well-orchestrated. I’m thrilled the OPO has chosen to program this work; it demonstrates the possibilities within partnerships like the one between the OPO, UCF and the National Young Composers Challenge.”

There will be two performances of the Philharmonic’s “Gil Shaham Returns” concert, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 9. Both take place in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Peforming Arts, and tickets start at $23.60. Go to drphillipscenter.org.

The next concert from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra features violinist Gil Shaham. (Orlando Sentinel file photo)

Finally, while we wait for word if Jellyrolls — the former dueling-piano club at Walt Disney World’s Boardwalk — finds a new home, here’s a chance to hear from some of its talented pianists.

The Wilson Orlando at Meliá Orlando Celebration Hotel will present “Dueling Pianos!” as the musicians perform everything from classic hits to today’s top tunes, based on crowd requests. Nov. 7 peformances will feature pianists Wyatt Brooks and Charles Fernandes, and Nov. 8 shows will feature Spencer Shepard and Michael Mastroianni.

Each night there are two performances, a 6-8 p.m. show for all ages, and a 9-11 show for guests 21 and older. Admission is $20 per person, VIP tables for four are available for $100. The Wilson Orlando and Meliá Orlando Celebration Hotel are located at 225 Celebration Way in Celebration. Go to sevenrooms.com/experiences/thewilsonorlando.

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