New Dance Festival reimagines how audiences experience performance

What happens when a dance performance moves beyond the traditional stage?

This month, James Madison University’s School of Theatre and Dance explored that question through the premiere of its reinvented, sold-out show, New Dance Festival: Off-site & Rewired, an immersive performance experience that brought together dance, projection, sound and virtual reality. 

Taking place Sept. 11 and 12 at JMU’s Office of Creative Propulsion in downtown Harrisonburg, the festival challenged the conventional relationship between performer and audience. Instead of watching from a fixed seat, audiences were invited to move through the performance environment, experience choreography from different perspectives, and encounter technology as part of the artistic experience. 

The festival featured Adele Myers and Dancers, a nationally recognized dance theater company based in Miami, performing excerpts from a world Gone Fabulous. The program also showcased JMU dancers performing new choreography by Cecilia Benitez, a member of Adele Myers and Dancers and an emerging choreographer.

Tara Lee Burns, assistant professor of dance and technology and co-creator of New Dance Festival: Off-site and Rewired, says the project represented more than three years of creative research and gave JMU students multiple opportunities to engage with the company through residencies, classes and the creative process. The College of Visual and Performing Arts brought Adele Myers and Dancers to campus in April to rehearse and work directly with students. 

By bringing professional artists, JMU students and emerging technologies together in an unconventional performance space, Off-site & Rewired reflects the School of Theatre and Dance’s continued exploration of contemporary approaches to creating and presenting dance. As JMU continues to explore what’s possible when artists, technology, and disciplines intersect, the Office of Creative Propulsion provides a space for these ideas to take shape. 

To discover more creative projects, performances and interdisciplinary work from JMU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, visit jmu.edu/arts and follow JMU Arts Instagram on social media.