Opening Nights - Adele Myers and Dancers

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

ADELE MYERS & DANCERS

FALL 2023–24

CHANGING THE LIVES THAT CHANGE THE WORLD

Carlos Rodriguez, B.S. Management Information Systems and B.S. Marketing, 2021 Shanquell Dixon, Doctor of Medicine, 2022

thank you to our SPONSORS

PLATINUM LEVEL

DIAMOND LEVEL

SILVER LEVEL

MIKEY BESTEBREURTJE & WILSON BAKER

BRONZE

CHRIS & BETH CORUM KIMBERLY CRISER

DEBBY

IN-KIND SPONSORS & ENDOWMENTS

MARJORIE TURNBULL

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Opening Nights at Florida State University is excited to bring the very best performing arts, music, dance, comedy, literature and visual arts to our campus and community.

The first half of the 23–24 season features award-winning artists, beginning with acclaimed folk singers Mary Chapin Carpenter with Shawn Colvin at Ruby Diamond Concert Hall. This folk duo will share their musical hits at this memorable concert. The season continues with two-time, GRAMMY® Awardwinning artists Ranky Tanky at Opperman Music Hall. These inspiring artists specialize in jazz-influenced arrangements of traditional Gullah music, a culture that originated among descendants of enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. Southeast.

ON continues its October lineup with Miamibased dance company Adele Myers and Dancers at the Nancy Smith Fichter Theater, in collaboration with the School of Dance. The dance company presents a newly created work called T.W.I.S.T, a foot stomping, soul quaking and heart pounding dance theater performance performed by five female athletes who embody Myers’ signature fusion of personal theatricality and robust physicality. International sensations the Gipsy Kings take the Adderley Amphitheater by storm with their signature blend of rumba, salsa and flamenco music.

New this season is a fun and unique boots and jeans outdoor performance by Hot Club of Cowtown at the beautiful Phipps Farm on Meridian. Join us for an outstanding western swing music experience, complete with food trucks, bars and plenty of fun.

In November, we kick off the holiday season with two exciting performances beginning

with Broadway’s Next Hit Musical’s The Phony Awards. This fully improvised performance features memorable characters, hilarious dialogue, song and dance. Who will win the award?

November continues with Opening Nights’ first Goodwood Series concert at the Goodwood Museum and Gardens featuring Grammy nominated Della Mae. Don’t miss these amazing ladies performing their heartwarming, bluegrass melodies.

Finally, we end 2023 with a holiday concert for the whole family, featuring a family of musicians. MacMaster & Leahy Celtic Family Christmas will delight all ages with a family Christmas concert. Known as Canada’s reigning couple of Celtic music, they are sure to delight. Join us at Opperman Music Hall on December 7.

I cannot think of a better time and opportunity to become a member of Opening Nights and to show your support of our mission to present exceptional artists — a mission worthy of supporting and celebrating! These performances create a thriving cultural life in our community and create priceless educational experiences on campus and throughout the community. Ask any Opening Nights associate about these philanthropic opportunities.

Thank you for sharing the first half of our 23–24 season with us. We look forward to many more outstanding performances coming your ways in Tallahassee’s Bicentennial Year, 2024.

Jennifer Wright Director, Opening Nights at FSU

Florida State University

Richard McCullough President

Opening Nights Staff

Jennifer Wright Director

Allison Jordan Development Director

Grace Atkins

Program & Operations Manager

Brad Lister

Business & Patron Services Manager

Calla MacNamara

Education & Engagement Manager

Noelle Enright

Marketing & Communications Associate

Amanda Cole Graphic Designer, FSU Marketing

Rodney H. Johnson Assistant Director of FSU Marketing

Opening Nights Development Council

Eric Friall, Chair

Ron Sachs, Vice Chair

Gus Corbella, Immediate-Past Chair

Susan Stratton, Secretary

Kathleen Daly

Brooke Hallock

David Mica, Jr.

Heather Mitchell

Nan Nagy

Tom Nelson

Florida State University

Office of the President College of Fine Arts

College of Motion Picture Arts

College of Music

College of Social Sciences & Public Policy

FSU Panama City University Communications University Relations

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

OCTOBER

12 Adele Myers & Dancers Dance

20 The Gipsy Kings World, Latin

26 Hot Club of Cowtown Western Swing

NOVEMBER

1 Broadway’s Next Hit Musical Comedy, Improv

7 Della Mae Bluegrass

DECEMBER

7 MacMaster & Leahy Celtic Family Christmas

Celtic, Holiday

JANUARY

10 Elvis Costello Rock, Alternative

11 Jesse Cook

Flamenco, Jazz Guitar

18

Delirium Musicum Contemporary Chamber Music

24 Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson: “A Cosmic Perspective” Speaker

FEBRUARY

1 Sons of Serendip

Cover photo by Sully Sullivan

Proud to partner with Opening Nights to provide cultural opportunities for the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Bend

Opening Nights, Opening Doors is a partner program of Prime Meridian Bank, FSU Opening Nights, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Big Bend. Now in its third year, the program provides on-campus experiences for Club members to inspire a vision of future opportunities in the areas of engineering, nursing, hospitality, and (coming soon) media and the arts.

WALMART.COM

2023–24 MEMBERS AS

Producer’s Circle

Bart & Tamara Aitken ✽

David Altmaier u

Jann & Ray Bellamy H

Phillip & Betty Brown ✽

Janet & Craig Dennis ✽

Liz Dudek ✽

Geof Mansfield & Jennifer Fitzwater u

Sharon & John Harris ✽

Jimmie Crowder Excavating & Land Clearing, Inc u

Paull & Nita Kirkpatrick

Stacey Lampkin ✽

Jim & Sharon Lowe ✽

Dr. Jayne M. Standley H

Kathy Villacorta & Carol Lees Gregg ON

David Waters

Partner Level

Robyn Blank ✽

Grossman Furlow & Bayo H

Kathleen Brennan & Claude Hendon

Brandi & Steve Brown ✽

The Three Sisters ✽

Berneice Cox u

Mike & Jeri Damasiewicz ✽

Bill & Caryl Donnellan H

Patrick & Kathy Dunnigan ✽

Dave & Margaret Groves H

Rhonda Harris & Ivelisse Muller u

Brenda & Tracy Hatch ON

Katee Tully & Janet Hinkle

Bill & Bunnie Hunter ✽

Susan & Al Kaempfer

In memory of Helen Keaton

Charkes & Connie Kummer u

Ken & Lisa LeGette ✽

ON Member for 15 years or more

H Member for 10 years or more

✽ Member for 5 years or more

u First year members

Trydent Consulting, LLC u

Dan & Jessica McGrew u

Rhonda & Raymond Merritt ✽

Sam & Amber Nunnally

Kristine & Tom Parker

Gregory Schaberg & Rex Abert

Barbara & Mark Shapiro ✽

Angie & Marty Sipple u

Del Suggs & Denice Jones ON

Warren W. & Paula E. Sutton H

Susan Crawford & Joseph Travis

Drs. Timothy & Hannah Walker u

Jason & Brenda Watts u

Bernie & Lisa Waxman ✽

Gary & Wendy Williams H

Friend Level

Bonnie Basham & Warren Woodward

Greg & Sharon Beaumont

Ellen Berler & Bob Contreras ✽

Sandy & Jim Dafoe H

Mr & Mrs Bill Davis ✽

Marcy P. Driscoll

The Hon. Stephen Everett & Meghan Everett ✽

Archie F. Gardner & Giles C. Toole, III

Bill Graham & Shelley Hill ✽

Ken & Debbie Hodges ✽

Beth Holz & Jen Hyde u

Igler & Pearlman, P.A. u

John & Linda Kilgore H

Robert G. Knight H

David & Linda Knopf

Mr. & Mrs. Lee H

Jimmy Martin & Carlos Fernandez

Randi & Chris New ✽

Evan & Heather Rosenberg u

Eleanore Rosenberg-Larry Sack H

Lynda Roser & Marilyn Yon

April Salter & Christopher Fagiano u

Sharon Slaten

Pat & Gary Smith H

John & Kendra Viele

David & Mary Jean Yon H

Associate Level

Bob Cohen & Karen Asher-Cohen ✽

Eileen & Don Bourassa H

Jennifer & Scott Boyles ✽

Pete & Bonnie Chamlis H

Barbara Davidson &Anne Davis

Joseph & Alison DeBelder u

Pamala J. Doffek H

Colonel & Ms. Dunn ✽

Keith & Vangie Fields ✽

Dr. & Mrs. John Bailey, Dr. Sanddra Schoenfisch u

Carole Goodyear

Jennifer & Matt Guy-Hudson

Barbara Hamby & David Kirby H

Linda Harkey H

Dr. & Mrs. Hayden H

Amy M. Jones ON

Susan LaJoie u

Thomas Lawhorn

Jim Lee & Gordon Bedwell ✽

Brian R. Lockwood ✽

Dr. Lynne Y. Lummel & Dr. John W. Lee u

Shawn McCauley & Suzanne Smith

Susan McConnell H

McNeal/Dunn Family ✽

Ed & Linda Oaksford ✽

Stephen & Patricia C. Peters ✽

Tom & Dianne Phillips H

Piekarewicz Family H

Susan Potts & Michael Mesler

Michael & Sandra Radulski u

Stephen & Barbara Roberts ✽

Sarah & Terry Sherraden

Dawn & Greg Springs

Bruce Campbell & Susan Stephens ✽

Ann & Jeff VanderMeer

Eliot Wigginton ✽

Debut Level

Farrukh Alvi u

American Endowment Foundation

James & Marsha Antista u

Dan Taylor & Tony Archer ✽

Drs. Charles & Sharon Aronovitch H

Lisa & Jeff Askins

Dan & Ash Barrow u

Gary & Kathy Bartlett u

Jeff & Dede Berglund u

Heather & Sonny Bishop

Greg & Karen Boebinger

Bono Communications & Marketing, LLC u

Adrienne J. Bowen ✽

Nell & Anita Bowers u

Jim Boxold u

Ann Brattain ✽

Dr. & Mrs. A.J. Brickler III u

Robert & Carmella BugBee u

Morgan W. Bunch u

Keith & Julie Campbell u

Cynthia Cavallaro u

Kurt Van Etten & Peggy Cheng u

Robert & Linda Clickner ✽

Sue Colombo u

Ms. Carol Cooper ✽

Andra Scott Cornelius & David E. Hatcher, Jr.

Katharine Etchen & Brandon Couillard u

Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Crabtree ✽

Yvonne Cyphers u

Dorothy David u

Julie Lovelace & Burt Davy

Kira Derryberry Photography

Sharon & Rick Fallon

Rick & Joyce Fausone ✽

Rosemary Ferguson

Kathleen Fletcher u

J. & Diane Fogarty

Mark Fontaine & Dianna Cazzaniga ✽

Belinda Takach France

Katherine Garner u

Tom & Daleen Gilpin

David & Kathy Hale ✽

Amy Hanstein u

Karen Hawkins ✽

Lynn Heacock u

Maura & William Heebink ✽

Keith Baxter & Wendy Hollady u

2023–24 members, cont.

Gary & Paula Hudson

Wade Johnson & Laura Rosner

Francisco Alarcon

Mr. Keelean & Mrs. Kampert H

Christine M. Keller ✽

Steve & Beth Kelly ✽

Wayne & Paula Kiger u

King & Wood, P.A. u

William Lampkin u

Bejamin Lawson ✽

Terry & Fran Lewis ✽

Chris Livaudais u

Clay & Bree Lovel u

Dr. Christopher & Heather Lowery

Signature Art Gallery

Jeffrey Mandel u

David Joel Marsh

Simone Marstiller u

Kathleen & Lealand McCharen

Tom & Leisa McCullion ✽

Tricia & Randy Merchant

Dr. Marion Merzer & Martin Merzer ✽

Lee Metcalf ✽

Alison & Burke Mewborne u

Mike & Karen Mobley

Serena & Jon Moyle

Lee & Lisa Nichols

Dr. Debbie Justice Obley & Ross Obley H

Gregg & Morgan Patterson u

Dustin & Helen Paulson u

Brian & Abby Pensky u

William B. Porter u

Karalee Poschman u

Leslie Powell-Boudreaux u

Melissa Proctor u

Mark E. Reichert

LaShawn Riggans, Esq.

Alan & Karen Rowan

Kelly Russell

Rose Salinas u

Vincent Salters & Nancy Sampson u

Joann Sapolsky

Susan Schatzman

Brian & Brandi Sealey u

Anne & Tim Selvey u

Charles & Pamela Shields ✽

Rabbi Paul & Wendy Sidlofsky, Temple Israel u

Larry & Linda Simpson

Sandy Sims & Rhoda Kibler

Smithsonian Management

Joanna Snyder

N Stratis

Lily & Marty Swanbrow Becker u

Virginia A. Tattrie u

Phyllis Thomson & Steve Carter

Meredith Trammell u

Ken Tucker u

Steven & Christine Vancore u

Margaret Wallace u

Kevin & Donna Watson u

David & Christy West u

Derek & Courtney Whitis u

Jodi Wilkof & Greg Munson

Nancy Wright MD H

Solo Level

Julie Alexander u

Anonymous

Adrienne Barnes ✽

Kathleen Barnett & Dr. Lonnie Draper

Lindsey Begue u

Stuart Bell u

Megan & Alan Benson

Dillon B. u

Shirley & Jerry Boland u

Cyndy Brantley u

Carole Wright Brogdon

Robbie & Sara Brunger u

John & Petra Burns u

Anthony & Janet Carro

Kitte & James Carter u

Goldie Chaves ✽

Maggie Cass & David Collins u

Kerry Conner u

John Corrigan

Westi-jo DeHaven-Smith u

Hon. Angela C. Dempsey u

Vanessa Dennen & George Williamson u

July Gaby u

Nancy Dufoe & Jennifer Ray u

Kiki Dunton

Mary Eichin

Suzanne Ferrell-Locke & Bob Lutz u

Robin & Beth Eskin u

CJ & Luke Flynt u

Debbie Frost u

David Gaboardi u

JoAnne Graf u

Vincent Kuntz u

Donna H. Heald

James & Hillary Hodges

Mike & Susan Hugunin u

Hutt Recruiting Services u

Consuelo Ingledue u

Masoud & Amy Karimipour u

Roger & Pat Keen u

Robert & Cathy Kendall u

Jeanne Kimball u

Karen Lamb

Dian & Chas LaTour H

Mark & Jan LeBar ✽

Jane LeGette u

Buck Lehman u

Tom Long ✽

Mona Markell u

Andrew L. Maurey u

Eileen McCann

Jerry McClure u

Greg & Robin u

Brent & Ashley McNeal u

Dr. & Mrs. John Meis u

María Morales u

Beth Mueller u

Garo & Stephanie Nargiz u

Joan Nelson & Michael Scholl u

Stefanie Hays Nolder LCSW/ACSW u

Helen Burke & Jim O'Rourke

Ernie Paine & Ramona Abernathy-Paine u

Mollie Glover Palmer u

Lara Perez-Felkner

Joe Picklesimer ✽

Rachel & David Pienta

Rebecca Pruett u

Phil Reeves

Kristin & Terry Roberts u

Marie A. Roberts u

Nan Schultz u

Scott A. Shamp u

Leah R. Sherman ✽

Bob Smith u

Patricia Gudis Smith

David & Samantha Spore u

Lawrence P Stevenson

Cheryl Stuart & Steve Kunst u

David & Susan Tassinari u

Kurt Teets u

Tina Torrance & Debo Groover u

Marianna Tutwiler ✽

Tom & Chris Waits u

Vickie Spray & Mary Waller u

Heather Ward u

Marianne Warhol u

Heather Watson u

Shane & Nia Wellendorf u

Tony Whitfield u

Joyce Murray & Pam Whitworth u

Amy Ray Ride or Die u

Glenn Woodsum, DJ Wright

Coleman Zuber ✽

For more information & to become a member, visit openingnights.fsu.edu/ support/membership

✽ Member for 5 years or more

H Member for 10 years or more

ON Member for 15 years or more

u First year members

Herb & Mary Jervis

Congratulations Opening Nights for fostering the Arts in Tallahassee for the past 25 years.

The students, faculty, and staff of FSU and the citizens of north Florida have been enriched by your efforts.

We eagerly await what the next 25 years will bring.

“

I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.

– Thornton Wilder

Saluting OPENING

at Florida State University

Thank you to our In-Kind Sponsors

Beth & Lawton Langford Endowment

Culture Builds Florida

FSU College of Music

FSU Alumni Association

Goodwood Museum & Gardens

Kelly & Laurie Dozier Endowment Fund

Lamar

Leon High School Band

Louise

National Endowment for the Arts

Phipps Farm

Poco Vino

Rowland Publishing/ Tallahassee Magazine

Social Catering & Events

Tallahassee Democrat

Ireland Humphrey Excellence Fund

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12

Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre • 7:30 PM

Adele Myers & Dancers

Adele Myers and Dancers is a Miami based national touring dance theater company made up of female athletes of the heart. The company will present, T.W.I.S.T, a foot stomping, soul quaking, and heart pounding dance imbued with Myers’ signature fusion of personal theatricality and robust physicality.

The presentation of T.W.I.S.T. by Adele Myers and Dancers was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.

Continued on pg. 21

Sponsor

In collaboration with FSU SCHOOL OF DANCE

“I was mesmerized. It was truly an immersive experience.”

— Cynthia Close

Photo by Juan Cabrera

THEATRE TCC! 2023-24 SEASON COME JOURNEY WITH US!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

By Ray Bradbury

When the carnival comes to town, two boys unearth the terrifying and horrible secrets that lurk within Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show and learn the consequences of wishes, as a sinister and evil force is at work in Green Town, Illinois.

October 12-14 at 8 p.m.

October 20 & 21 at 8 p.m.

October 22 at 2 p.m.

The Shape of Things

By Neil Labute

A young student drifts into an ever-changing relationship with an art major while his best friend’s engagement crumbles, unleashing a drama that peels back the skin of two modern-day relationships.

November 16-18 at 8 p.m.

December 1 & 2 at 8 p.m.

December 3 at 2 p.m.

Legally Blonde

Book by Heather Hach

Music and Lyrics By Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin

The ultimate tribute to girl power, Legally Blonde will take you from the UCLA sorority house to the Harvard halls of justice with the timely coming-of-age story of Broadway’s brightest heroine.

April 4-6 at 8 p.m.

April 12 & 13 at 8 p.m.

April 14 at 2 p.m.

Adele Myers & Dancers

Continued from pg. 19

T.W.I.S.T (These Women in Space and Time) Act I

~ Intermission ~ Act II

Conceived & Directed by Adele Myers

PERFORMERS

Alondra Balbuena, Maria Burt, Kayla Castellon, Jennifer Rivera, Cristina MoyaPalacios

SOUND DESIGN

Aeon De La Cruz aka Blind Carbon Copy

LIGHTING DESIGN

Kathy Couch

COSTUME DESIGN

Pangea Kali Virga

CHOREOGRAPHIC COLLABORATORS

Alondra Balbuena, Maria Burt, Dianne Cano, Loren Davidson, Kayla Castellon, Kashia Kancey, Cristina Moya-Palacios, Adele Myers, Britney Tokumoto

PROGRAM NOTES

Adele is honored and thrilled to return to the FSU Nancy Smith-Fichter Theater where she launched her company in 2000 as part of her MFA Thesis project.

FUNDING & RESEARCH CREDITS

Adele Myers and Dancers was awarded a 2021 National Dance Project Production grant for the development and touring of T.W.I.S.T which was created during a two-year commissioned residency at the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center. T.W.I.S.T was also co-commissioned and presented by The Yard, an artist residency and performance center dedicated to contemporary dance and related arts. T.W.I.S.T was also made possible by New England Foundation for the Arts' National

Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. General Operating Support was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

TWISTalks were the creative research and community engagement aspect of T.W.I.S.T offered January through March 2022 with support from the NCCAkron Satellite Residency program. TWISTalks are nationwide virtual gatherings of women on a national scale who share, listen, laugh and twist against disempowering ways we move through the world in our daily choreographies. TWISTalks were facilitated by the following research partners for T.W.I.S.T : Dr. Tracy Alloway, award-winning Psychologist and author of Think Like a Girl, and by the founder of Somatic Soul Food, Toranika Washington who is also a Somatic Educator and Leadership Coach.

ABOUT ADELE MYERS & DANCERS

Adele Myers and Dancers, Inc. (AMD) is a nationally recognized Miami based dance theater company. For over a decade, AMD has been presented throughout the U.S. Since 2010, the company has received development and touring support for several multidisciplinary evening-length projects from notable funding organizations including New England Foundation of the Arts for Theater in the Head 2010; National Dance Project Production Grant for Einstein’s Happiest Thought in 2013; the National Performance Network for The Dancing Room in 2015. Since relocating its home base from the northeast to Miami in 2015, AMD received commissions for new work from the Miami Light Project/ Here & Now in 2018 for Girls!Girls!Girls! and MDC Live Arts/LALA in 2019 for The Stage Show. From 2020–2022 AMD was a commissioned company-in-residence at the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center

(SMDCAC) where the company developed T.W.I.S.T with additional support from a 2021 National Dance Project Production grant and from The Yard who is a cocommissioning partner. With support from the NCC Akron Satellite Residency program, and in partnership with SMDCAC, AMD hosted TWISTalks, a series of facilitated virtual gatherings of women nationwide who share, listen, laugh and twist against disempowerment.

In partnership with the Pérez Art Museum of Miami, AMD launched Miami Dancemakers, an annual six-month professional development and community engagement program to support Miami’s next generation of creative visionaries in dance by offering a stipend, mentorship and networking and performance opportunities.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Alondra Balbuena, a freelance dance artist born in New York City raised in Miami, Florida, is working to deepen her understanding of human connection through performance-based movement. She holds a BFA degree from the New World School of the Arts College where she performed works by Robert Battle, Ohad Naharin and Peter

London. After receiving her degree, Alondra has performed with the Peter London Global dance company, National water dance projects, and with artist/curator Geovanna Gonzales on her solo exhibition HOW TO: Oh, look at me commissioned by Locust projects. Currently she is based in New York City and performs with Adele Myers and Dancers.

Maria Burt is a Miami native. She began her training at the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet and attended New World School of the Arts College where she has performed repertoire by Robert Battle, Ohad Naharin, Mark Morris, Paul Taylor, and others. After graduating college, Maria continues to delve deeper into herself as an artist, performer, and human being, as well as the research of movement as an expressive vocabulary. She has worked and performed at the Adrienne Arsht Center with the Peter London Global Dance Company and was an apprentice of the company during their 2019/2020 season.

Currently, Maria is involved with Adele Myers and Dancers as a Dance Artist since Spring of 2021. She has earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Florida/New World School of the Arts with the graduating class of 2020.

Debby Kearney

Richard Scott Kearney

Kayla Castellon is a vibrant dance artist, choreographer, and movement educator based in Miami, Florida. She has performed works locally by Pioneer Winter, Maya Billig, Isabel Lewis, Ana Sanchez Colberg, Sandra Portal-Andreu, and Mango Hernandez. Kayla is a 2020 Knight Arts Challenge winner for her founding project Show and Talk, a movement based works in progress showing followed by a facilitated feedback session. Her original work has been commissioned by Miami Light Project and Screendance Miami. She graduated from The University of the Arts with a BFA in dance under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. Kayla is thrilled to be working with Adele Myers and the cast that is truly beautiful inside and out.

Adele Myers is a Miami based dancemaker, educator, community organizer, and Artistic Director of Adele Myers and Dancers (AMD), a national touring contemporary dance theater company made up of athletes of the heart. Her choreography has been presented throughout the U.S. for over a decade. Adele received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, a One-Year Special Certificate from the London School of Contemporary Dance; and earned an MFA in Dance 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 more recently taught Dance Composition in the college program at New World School of the Arts in Miami. Adele is a member of the FSU College of Fine Arts Dean’s Advisory Council.

Cristina Moya-Palacios is a Venezuelanborn Miami-raised dancer with a BFA from New World School of the Arts College. During her time at New World, she performed works by Robert Battle, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Ohad Naharin, and others. Her most recent professional work includes performing and touring with Adele Myers and Dancers as well as performing in Peter London Global Dance Company's Crossing, Rosie Herrera Dance

Theatre’s Tropical Depression and in Jamar Roberts’ The House of the Most Loved. Since graduating, she has moved to New York with hopes to further her career as an artist. She aspires to collaborate with artists globally and absorb from every opportunity and experience that arises in order to continue to further her development as a dancer and performer.

Jennifer Rivera is a Miami-based choreographer, performer, dance scholar, and teaching artist. She began her studies at Miami-Dade College (MDC) Kendall Campus under the direction of Michelle Grant-Murray and continued her training at the University of the Arts School of Dance where she received her BFA in 2021. The following year, Jennifer was selected for the Miami DanceMakers Professional Development Program; received an MDC Kendall Campus Leaps and Bounds Artist Alumni Award; and created her most recent work in collaboration with Jubilation Dance Ensemble, InterDimensions: ACTIVATED. She currently attends Rennie Harris University working toward her certification to teach Hip-Hop and Street Dance Styles. Jennifer was recently a guest teaching artist at the 2023 MDC Artistry in Rhythm Dance Conference and continues to give back to dance communities through her love of teaching dance in South Florida and beyond.

T.W.I.S.T COLLABORATORS

Kathy Couch is an artist, educator, advocate, and Bessie Award winning designer living in Northampton, MA. Working in mediums of light, space, collaboration, and improvisation, Couch creates visual landscapes for performance and installation with/in traditional and non-traditional spaces. Couch’s work has been seen at New York Live Arts, Danspace Project, the Chocolate Factory, LaMaMa, the New Museum in New York City, the Immigration Museum in Melbourne, as well as in Prague, Armenia, Russia, Latvia, Serbia and throughout

thank Opening Nights for their commitment to the arts in our community

Law Office of Linda P. Bailey, P.A.

Sally Karioth & Amanda Karioth Thompson

Janet R. Thornton

New England. She has recent and current collaborations with a canary torsi/Yanira Castro, Vanessa Anspaugh, improvisation ensemble The Architects, and musician Batya Sobel. Couch has collaborated and toured nationally with Adele Myers and Dancers on multiple evening-length projects since 2013. She teaches Lighting Design at Amherst College and is a founding board member and current President of the Northampton Community Arts Trust which seeks innovative ways to preserve and steward space for imagination and creativity.

Aeon De La Cruz, YoungArts alumnus and Miami Native, is an interdisciplinary artist/ dancer who initially joined the T.W.I.S.T project as a visual artist through his graphic design brand, Flat Earth Graphics. Created in 2020, the brand specializes in custom designs for dance projects like Show and Talk, Jessie Young Pilates, and The Jellyfish Jam. In addition to graphic design, his experimental music compositions began surfacing at live performances like Grass Stains by Pioneer Winter Collective and Allegra Preuss’ You Had to be There at Miami Art Society under the guise of his sound project, BLIND CARBON COPY. His multi-disciplinary approach to dance has inspired his collaborations and performances with Alma Dance Theater, Raw Pop Up, Kayla Castellon, Lijun Zhou,

American Dance Festival, YoungArts, Pioneer Winter Collective, visual artist Lotus Lien and Here & Now at Miami Light Project.

Pangea Kali Virga is an enthusiastic creator whose work spans many sides of the art and fashion industry. She is a fiber artist, designer, stylist, curator, creative director, educator, and producer with high standards and a conceptual spirit. Her aim is to build collaborative inclusive networks and moving experiences through her work and all of her projects. Pangea loves creating wearable art of upcycled materials, supporting her belief in the power of clothing as storyteller, cultural marker, and political catalyst. She has found great comfort and liberation through clothing and fashion, and the work she creates is made in hopes of extending those experiences to the viewer and wearer. Ms. Virga also regularly produces community-minded fashion projects with events that focus on sustainability, creativity, and inclusivity. Her work has been published in 60+ international publications. pangeakalivirga.com

Checkout our T.W.I.S.T Spotify Playlist featuring our favorite female icons: tinyurl.com/TWIST-SPOTIFY-PLAYLIST adelemyersanddancers.com

Instagram: @adelemyersanddancers

Ken Kato & Nan Nagy

Proud Supporters of Opening Nights and

Dr. Linda J. Smith

Full STEAM ahead—add the Arts to STEM! Support teachers and education!

Berger Singerman proudly supports Florida State University's Opening Nights and its efforts in bolstering arts education within the Tallahassee community

FORT LAUDERDALE | MIAMI | ORLANDO | TALLAHASSEE | TAMPA | WEST PALM BEACH

Jim & Betty Ann Rodgers