Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, a Cuban-American artist, mother, and teacher with rhythm inextricably in her bones found her voice through dance at an early age. As the Founder and Artistic Director of Sarasota Contemporary Dance, she has the privilege of using those bones to create art that has been called “stunning and imaginative” by Carrie Seidman of the Herald Tribune. As Artist-in-Residence at New College of Florida, she has the opportunity to share her love of dance and to be an influential member of Florida’s dance community. Featured in Sarasota Scene Magazine’s Arts & Cultural Issue: Ladies of the Arts, Leymis has been the recipient of numerous artistic achievement and leadership awards throughout her career. She was honored to receive the Dance Magazine award for “Southeast Best Choreographer” and was listed in Sarasota Magazine as one of the Top 28 Most Powerful People in the Arts. Her 80+ dance works include collaborations with artists and organizations of various disciplines from musicians to museums. Collaborative highlights include: Sarasota Orchestra, Choral Artists of Sarasota, Westcoast Black Theater Troupe, Asolo Rep, Salvador Dalí Museum, Kaleidoscope, John and Mable Ringling Museum, Art Center of Sarasota, Stephen Miles of New Music New College, composer Eduard Cosla, percussionist Scott Blum, Mark Dancigers of NOW Ensemble, multitalented Francis Schwartz, and legendary principal harpist, Ann Hobson Pilot. Her works have been performed nationally at the John F. Kennedy Center, Ailey Citigroup Theater in NYC, Colony Theater and Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami, and internationally in Ramallah, Argentina, and Spain. Leymis pioneered the Dance and Healing certificate at the University of Florida and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography from Florida State University. Her research in dance as a healing art form and its ability to harness and foster community building came to fruition in 2006 when she and Rachael Inman founded Fuzión Dance Artists, now Sarasota Contemporary Dance. Leymis is a professor of dance at New College of Florida, a certified Pilates instructor, and through her Dance for PD certificate experience founded and developed the dance program at Parkinson Place in 2012. She served as Vice President of the Florida Dance Association from 2013-2017 and is a member of the Arts and Health Coalition in Sarasota. Her most precious honor, however, is being married to her husband, Kavin, of eighteen years and mother to thirteen-year-old Charles Edward and seven-year-old, Valda Elizabeth, who inspires her dance-making daily.
Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers (Founding Company Member/Associate Director of SCDE), nominated for Best Female Dancer in Australia in 2009, has performed throughout Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States with Australian Dance Theater and Cloudgate 2. Previously Assistant Professor at the Taipei National University of Arts, she has danced and choreographed with Sarasota Contemporary Dance since 2012. In 2013, Xiao-Xuan co-choreographed "Dreamfall'' featuring music by NOW Ensemble with Leymis Bolaños Wilmott. She has also danced as a soloist in Leymis’ "Summer Days," which the Sarasota Herald-Tribune wrote, “With…Dancigers’ total ownership of the characterization it was stunning.” She was also a soloist in Gerri Houlihan’s "Every Little Movement'', of which the Bradenton Herald wrote, “A highlight on opening night was the long and unspeakably gorgeous solo by Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers. If you appreciate dance at all, you find yourself wishing the solo would never end.” In 2017, she choreographed and performed the solo "Signal" for New Music New College to music by Luciano Berio, with the Herald-Tribune calling the performance “stunning...precise". Xuan loves to perform and choreograph. She is extremely passionate about teaching young dancers. Since 2019, she has co-directed the SCD Ensemble and teaches "Dance for Joy'' at Aviva Senior Living in Sarasota.
Melissa Rummel was raised in Dryden, Michigan where she started dancing at the age of seven. She graduated from Belhaven University with a BFA in dance, emphasis on modern dance and choreography. She has trained with companies such as Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, RiverNorth Chicago, Ad Deum Dance Company, and Sarasota Contemporary Dance. This is Melissa’s Eighth season with Sarasota Contemporary Dance and fourth as Studio Coordinator. Melissa is the Associate Director for SCD Ensemble(Student Training program) and the SCD Summer Intensive Director. She is passionate about teaching and currently teaches with SCD and Woodland Fine Arts Academy. She also enjoys fitness and the positive effect it can bring to others, and she strives to find new ways to combine her love of dance and fitness. She strives to never stop stretching herself as a performer, choreographer, and teacher.
Jessica Obiedzinski is a native, 6th-generation Floridian living in St. Petersburg. Back in 2018, Jessica was given the opportunity to join the SCD Community to make her career about learning and growing through dance. She was excited at the prospect of surrounding herself with like-minded individuals who pushed themselves physically and creatively by performing and making art, and it stuck! Leymis saw even more potential to grow and continues to draw it forward. It is truly a rare gift. Jessica has been dancing for five consecutive seasons with the Company, acting as a dance performer, choreographer, and rehearsal director. Jessica has presented choreographic works in the Tampa Bay area, for SCD Voice's Rising Choreographers in 2021 and, most recently, through the Hermitage Cross Arts Collaborative residency. She has been a company member with Elizabeth Streb, Susan Vencl, and Beth Soll’s companies in New York and worked extensively with Lynn Simonson and Laurie DeVito on Simonson technique methods. She teaches Pilates and Yoga and is a certified Simonson Dance Technique instructor. In Florida, she has taught both Yoga and Simonson technique classes at SCD and New College of Florida. In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her dog, play musical instruments, and spend time in bodies of water. Her choreographic inspiration comes from patterns in nature and the ways the body copes with life’s unexpected tides. Jessica loves wellness practices and is currently exploring the topic of mental health and the roles that trauma plays in our physical bodies by taking time to listen internally through journaling, watercolor painting, and, of course, dance-making.
Juliana Cristina was born in West Palm Beach, FL. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). She received her B.F.A Degree in Dance under the direction of American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Director Susan Jaffe and Brenda Daniels. Juliana has studied in multiple Trainee Programs, such as the Nashville Ballet and Ballet Palm Beach. She was a former dancer for The Palm Beach Opera and has performed works by internationally known artists, including Azure Barton, Kira Blazek, Helen Simoneau, Ming Lung-Yang, Juel D. Lane, Orange Grove, and Martha Graham. Juliana teaches at various studios within the SRQ community, including Diane Partington Studio of Classical Ballet, and as an SCD Teaching Artist. Currently, Mrs. Cristina is in her Fifth season as a company member and is the Development/Marketing Lead for Sarasota Contemporary Dance. Juliana joined the SCD Community because she felt the company's moral and core values as a dancer, performer, and artist were hers. Sarasota Contemporary Dance creates a healthy and loving working environment she fell in love with right after graduating college. A true Floridian, her family resides in Florida, and moving back was a way to stay close to home and join an arts community that values her as an artist both on and off the stage.
South Carolina native, Monessa Salley, has been with SCD for five consecutive seasons, dancing, performing, choreographing, and teaching professionally with Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company, serving as Production Lead for the past two seasons. After attending an SCD summer intensive in 2015, she knew this was a special organization, but it was not until 2019 that she seized an opportunity to join this unique company. Her desire to build community relations aligns with the company’s mission, in addition to it being a safe and nurturing space that fosters artistic growth in performance, teaching, and choreography. In addition to her work at SCD, she is a Teaching Artist for New College of Florida, an adjunct Dance Educator for the Booker High School VPA Dance Department, and serves as an Arts Integration Teaching Artist for several organizations, including The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Wholehearted Education, and Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative. Salley enjoys choreographing for musical theater and recently served as Assistant Choreographer for West Coast Black Theater Troupe. She began training in dance at a young age and is well-versed in various genres. She holds a B.A. in Dance Performance from Winthrop University and a Master of Education in Divergent Learning from Columbia College. After continued education and serving as a certified Dance Educator and Theater Production Manager for 12 years in SC public school, she went on to pursue her MFA in Dance Performance and New Media at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts. She has previously toured and performed professionally with Sapphire Moon Dance Company, Vibrations Dance Company, T.O. Dance Inc., The Power Company Collaborative, and NYU’s Second Avenue Dance Company. Salley enjoys sharing the joy and passion of dance with all ages. She has a “mind, body, spirit” approach to dance and relishes in refining her craft as a performer and teacher, promoting health, healing, and happiness through dance, and enhancing community relations. Predominantly teaching Tap, Afro-Fusion, and Kids classes, Salley is inspired by rhythm, culture, and dance as a universal language. When not dancing, she enjoys reading, spending time with loved ones and her dogs, outdoor and aquatic activities in nature, viewing sunsets, and doing anything that makes her laugh out loud!
Zoe Austin was born in Montreal, Canada, and raised in Sarasota, FL. She attended the New World School of the Arts and humbly graduated as valedictorian, with a BFA. She is trained in Ballet, Horton, Limon, and Graham techniques and was honored to perform works by renowned, diverse choreographers while creating and performing her own works. In the summer of 2015, She received the Rosie Herrera full tuition scholarship to attend the American Dance Festival. She is currently residing back in her hometown of Sarasota, FL, where she has a family of her own, as well as her SCD family. In her time with the company, she has worked with many artists while challenging her own artistry with choreography. Zoe Austin loves anything active, whether that is dancing, CrossFit, or running around with her 6-year-old son. Zoe was captivated by SCD when she first saw a performance that showed the beautiful athleticism and artistry that the company presented. Zoe saw that SCD is a company that provides an amazing community that allows you to explore, pushes you through challenges, and always welcomes you with open arms. Zoe knew that this was something she wanted to be a part of, and this is now her fourth season with the company, and she is beyond blessed and excited to continue her journey and growth as an artist.
Samantha Miller is an emerging dance artist from Kendallville, Indiana. She trained for 16 years in the areas of tap, jazz, ballet, and modern at Tri-County Dance Academy for the Performing Arts. In 2013, Samantha continued her studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. While at the UArts, Samantha performed works by Curt Haworth, Douglas Becker, Esther Baker Tarpaga, Jen McGinn, Sidra Bell, Robert Burden, and Lauren Putty White. She was also able to work with Jeanine McCaine, performing her work "Under Her Skin" at the Philadelphia Fringe Art Festival in 2015. Samantha received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance, in May 2016 and is now exploring the world of dance in St. Petersburg, FL. Since residing in Florida, Samantha has been able to perform professionally with local artists and has been involved with dance theater, and dance performance, and has been featured in dance photography showcases. She has been a dancer with RogueDance Company and has been teaching and choreographing at Jeannelynn Dance Studio, growing their contemporary program for 7 years. She has also been a teaching artist for Sarasota Contemporary Dance and is a teaching artist at New College of Florida. Samantha has been able to present works for SCDs Voices and collaborate with company member Jordan Leonard to present an In-Studio full-length performance. Samantha came to SCD during the pandemic, where she found a new love for performance and sharing stories. She found a home here, which will be her 4th season with the company. Samantha has a true passion for dance and art and hopes to continue growing and sharing her knowledge with younger dancers. Dance performance brings Samantha so much joy that she hopes to spread that joy and fulfillment in her dancing and in her choreography. In her words, "all I want to do is dance." Samantha joined SCD to find a community of like-minded people who shared her passion for dance and performance. SCD has an incredible platform to grow as an individual artist, and that is an important part of her dance journey.
Jordan grew up in Michigan where her love for the performing arts developed. Through her training, she discovered the endless possibilities dance offered in exploration and story-telling. The idea that she would never stop learning intrigued her, and she began her journey at Point Park University earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medical and Pre-Professional Studies, and Minor in Chemistry. While at the conservatory, she had the privilege of performing works by Larry Keigwin, John Heginbotham, Mark Burrell, Jess Hendricks, Garfield Lemonius, Kiesha Lalama, Jason McDole, Robert Priore, and others. She furthered her training at Keigwin & Company, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, and chuthis. summer intensives. Jordan also enjoys choreographing and recently had the opportunity to collaborate on a full-length performance at SCD with company member Samantha Miller. She also has set work on the Sarasota Contemporary Dance Ensemble. Dance education is an important part of her life and she strives to promote positivity, strong foundations in technique, individuality, and self-acceptance in her classes. In Florida, she taught at SCD, New College of Florida, and Woodland Fine Arts Academy. When she is not dancing or teaching, Jordan enjoys working in the field of clinical research and spending time with family. Jordan desired to join SCD because the company is a family, and it fosters a safe environment to grow in artistry. The company constantly provides growth opportunities in performance, choreography, and teaching. Jordan is very excited and honored to be a part of the SCD family, and this is her third season!
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MaKayla Lane was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, where she found her love for dance at the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts. She then attended Point Park University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Spring 2023. During her time at Point Park, she has performed in various works by Jason McDole, Jesse Factor, Kiesha Lalama, Kiki Lucas, and others. While in Pittsburgh, she also took part in events within the community. She has performed with the Pittsburgh CLO, Botanic Gardens, and the world-renowned Pittsburgh Steelers. As much as she loves the stage, she also loves to teach and choreograph. Working with Dance Masters 2022, as well as various studios around the area, MaKayla has been able to inspire many young dancers. After graduation, MaKayla moved to Sarasota to expand her artistic talents as a dancer, instructor, and choreographer. This will be her first season dancing with Sarasota Contemporary Dance. MaKayla is also thrilled to join the community as a SCD and Woodland Fine Arts Academy teacher. She is passionate about inspiring others and will continue to do so through her artistic voice.
