Mission

The mission of Sarasota Contemporary Dance is to bring cutting edge dance of the highest caliber to the community through performance, education, and collaboration.

History

Leymis Bolaños Wilmott and Rachael Inman began working together in Florida State University’s graduate program in 2000. Not only did the two share an Arabic heritage, most importantly, they shared a vision to collaborate, create and celebrate through life experiences. They both spent time developing programming for the FSUdanceSARASOTA initiative, and in 2002 Bolaños Wilmott and Inman founded Fuzión Dance, the first professional contemporary dance company in Sarasota. In 2006, they formed Fuzión Dance Artists as a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. After a decade of establishing its presence under the continued Artistic Direction of Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, Fuzión Dance Artists became Sarasota Contemporary Dance. The organization felt it was time for a change, and under this new name have become a mainstay arts organization in the region.

Sarasota Contemporary Dance (SCD) is recognized for its extraordinary level of high-energy, contemporary dance and collaborative performances with artists of various genres. In addition to a variety of community collaborations and performances at local venues, SCD has also been presented at the Alabama Ballet Center for Dance, John F. Kennedy Center, Merce Cunningham Studio Theatre, and the Ailey Citygroup Theatre. The company presents a combination of works by the Artistic Director and Guest Choreographers. Recent Guest Choreographers include Jennifer Archibald, Michael Foley, Adele Myers, Gerri Houlihan, and Larry Keigwin. 2016-2017 marks the company’s 11th season. Additionally, the company offers a variety of physically integrated dance and movement modalities to people in different stages of their lives and abilities, inc