This project is near and dear to my heart because I danced with Adele Myers and Dancers for over 10 years. Now we are in different stages of our lives and collaborating in ways that stretch our creativity and bandwidths.

This evening is a combination of three works: “a world gone Fabulous,” a live stage performance by AMD; “Gone Fabulous VR,” created in collaboration with AMD by me; and “Traces,” a work set on JMU dancers by Cecilia Benitez.

Adele, Cecilia, and I have worked over the past 6 months with the dancers, designers, theatrical guides, and VR attendants to merge and layer these works in ways that challenge how we create and collaborate. All the works encompass elements of transformation and change — from human moments to wishing for a better world.

The way we are working leans into the unknown and is full of trust and hope. It is a way of collaborating that does not define hierarchy, that is horizontal, that does not place one dancer or performer or collaborator above another, or one person's vision above another. It is challenging in a world that elevates a single genius. It is an example of what becomes possible when we choose trust and shift away from one person's vision to a collective vision.

This evening you will be guided through different experiences in the gallery space, into rooms of hope, wishing, and connection, and eventually raw excitement.

You will be asked to participate, listen, wish, and view. I invite you to listen to your body and shift into your desires. What do you want to see? How do you want to witness? Challenge yourself to try things that are different or new. The work was created through a collective desire to challenge ourselves, now it’s your turn.

Special thanks to the Office of Creative Propulsion (Kathryn Nusa Logan & Alison Trocchia) for their tireless and endless support of this project over the past two years; to Ilana Morgan, Rubén Graciani, and the dance faculty for championing this vision of creating alternative space; to the STAD design and production teams for being open to translating practices and procedures to an alternative space; to the JMU dancers for being nothing but stellar throughout a process that is unfamiliar (which can be scary); to my family for every moment I am not present; to Keith Welch for talking it out ad nauseam; and to my collaborators Adele & Cecilia for breaking their hearts open to collaborate and merge in a way that was, in the end, way more challenging, but (I believe) just as if not more rewarding. I am so grateful.

Technical Director: Emily Becher-McKeever
Production Manager: Matt Pardo
Virtual Reality and Projection Assistant: Julia Egnot
Stage Manager: Sarah Schmidt
Lighting Shop Supervisor: Catherine Holcomb
Sound Shop Supervisor: Simon Marland
Costume Shop Manager: Jill Parzych
Scene Shop Supervisor: Shaun Bartlow
Production Electrician: Joey Besant
Costume Shop Head Draper: Jenny McNee
STAD Social Media Manager: Noormina Abu Alhomos
Dance Social Media Manager: Katie Shin
Student Technical Director: Sarah Schmidt, Zada Suddeth
Asst. Stage Managers: Madison Laszewski, Rylee Tiller
Asst. Student Technical Directors: Madison Laszewski, Rylee Tiller
Theatrical Guides: Haiku Burgiel, Jasmine Mondshine
Virtual Reality Attendants: Julia Egnot, Rylee Tiller

Adele Myers: Collaborator, Choreographer

Adele Myers is a Miami based dance maker, educator and Artistic Director of Adele Myers and Dancers (AMD),a national touring contemporary dance theater company made up of athletes of the heart. For over a decade, AMD has been presented throughout the U.S with funding from the New England Foundation of the Arts, National Dance Project, and National Performance Network among others. Since relocating to Miami in 2015, AMD has received commissions from Miami Light Project, Live Arts Miami and The Moss Center. In 2021, Myers launched Miami DanceMakers, an annual professional development program of the company that supports local dance makers at early stages of their careers.

Myers received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, a Certificate from the London School of Contemporary Dance; and earned an MFA with a focus on Dance Pedagogy and Choreography at Florida State University, and an MA and PhD (ABD) in Performance Studies from New York University. She was an Assistant Professor of Dance at Tulane University and Connecticut College and has taught on faculty at New World School of the Arts in Miami.

Cecilia Benitez: Collaborator, Choreographer, Adele Myers and Dancers Performer

Cecilia Benitez is a Cuban American freelance choreographer, dancer, educator, and artistic administrator based in Miami, Florida. Her choreography has been commissioned by Mutual Dance Theatre (OH), James Madison University (VA), Bistoury Physical Theatre and Film, Syncopate Collective, PAXy, Pioneer Winter Collective: Grass Stains, Miami Light Project’s Here and Now, and Miami DanceMakers.

In addition to creating live performance, Cecilia works in dance film. Her film La Superstición del Huevo received a Dance on Camera Production Grant and was recognized as a 2026 ScreenDance Miami Honoree. Her films have also been featured at the 305 & Havana International Improv Fest, the Mobile Dance Film Festival, and ScreenDance Miami.

Alongside her choreographic practice, Cecilia collaborates in the creation of new works for nationally touring companies, including Adele Myers and Dancers and Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre, where she also serves as Company Manager. Cecilia received her B.F.A. in Dance from Point Park University and studied abroad at the Conservatorio Superior de Danza “María de Ávila” in Madrid, Spain.

Maria Burt: Adele Myers and Dancers Performer

Maria Burt is a Miami Native with a repertoire of styles and techniques including modern, contemporary, ballet, tap, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean. She began her professional training at Armour Dance Theater and attended New World School of the Arts College where she has performed repertoire by Robert Battle, Ohad Naharin, Mark Morris and Paul Taylor. She worked closely with Eduardo Villaro in the production of the work "Chance of Thunder". In the summer of 2018, Maria attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance summer intensive where she learned choreography from Christian Burns and Alex Ketley. She now works with Adele Myers and Dancers, Peter London Global Dance Company, NWD Projects.

Clinton Harris: Adele Myers and Dancers Performer

Clint T. Harris is from Miami, FL where he dances with Peter London Global Dance Company. Harris has also performed in works choreographed by Enrique Villacreses, Mike Tyus, Jamar Roberts, and Justin Rapaport on stages throughout South Florida. In 2020, Harris was selected for "Grass Stains," a site-specific dance project directed by Pioneer Winter Collective. In 2015, he was featured in the Lifetime TV Network docuseries "Step! Up," which captured the lives of inner-city youth and their unwavering passion for dance.

Thanks for our generous Friends of the Arts & Design scholarship donors whose support allows our students to continue to create, perform, and inspire.

Arts & Design Hero ($5,000+)
Patricia Gould & Hasan Karsiloglu
Ann & Mark Siciliano
Richard & Sue Orem
Joshua & Trish Weinstein

Arts & Design Champion ($1,500-$4,999)
Jonathan Fox
Rubén Graciani & Matt Pardo
Marilou Johnson
Matthew & Sarah Von Schuch

Arts & Design Advocate ($500-$1,499)
John & Susan Allemeier
Jerry Benson & Martha Ross
Beth Chandler Cahill & Jim Cahill
Nancy Davis
Patrick & Stephanie Driscoll
Holly Haney & Bob Kolvoord
Quillon Hall & Karin Tollefson-Hall
Gina & Tom Holden
Thomas McKenzie

Arts & Design Ally ($250-$499)
Sue Agranoff
Ellen & George Aschenbrenner
Charles Boepple
Reginald Bryson & Souha Khawam
Eric & Jess Guinivan
MiKyoung Lee
Amy & Sean Myers-Payne
Rebekah Noonan
Cyndia & Dexter Taylor
Heather & Theodore Tseng
Bethany & Scott Vriesman
Connie & Hugh Westfall
Cecelia Wolf
Diane & Leonard Young

Learn more about becoming a Friend of the Arts & Design

Every spring, our students apply for scholarships to fund summer study and tuition assistance — and every year, more students apply than the year before. Dance Theatre is supporting JMU Dance's students by facilitating this fundraiser for dance major scholarships. Every dollar you give brings a student closer to their dream. Help us reach our goal, and together, let's build a brighter, more compassionate world for all.

If you would like to donate to support dance student scholarships, please click here.

If you would like another chance to inhabit Gone Fabulous VR, it will be presented in an upcoming OCP First Friday at the downtown Innovation HUB, November 6th 5 – 7pm. Stay tuned to their social media for more!

School of Art, Design, and Art History; Danny Harrison; Brian Smallwood; Michael Giovinco; STAD design and production teams for being open to translating practices and procedures to an alternative space