In March 2018 Sarasota Contemporary Dance opened its doors to the community with a free “SCD Day of Dance” for adults and children to celebrate the company’s long anticipated arrival at its new 3,000 square-foot home at 1400 Blvd of the Arts, Suite 300 in Sarasota’s downtown Rosemary District. On January 30, 2019 SCD named their box office/company office after the women who has been the backbone to the organization since its inception, Muriel Gordon Mayers. The official naming was revealed at Mayers’ 90th surprise birthday party that took place at the SCD home studio, where her daughter, a few community members, friends, and her SCD family surrounded her. Mayers, who has assisted Leymis in everything administratively since the beginning, is a very active board member and still assists the General Manager regularly. Mayers was speechless when she arrived to the studio and witnessed the unveiling of the new box office name. Muriel Gordon Mayers is a founding board member of Sarasota Contemporary Dance, formerly Fuzión Dance Artists, and served as Board President for the first seven years in addition to Treasurer (a position she still holds today). What you might not know about this brilliant, hard working, and most graceful women is that she has been involved with dance for over half of her life – first as a student and then as a dance educator. Mayers trained in ballet at The School of American Ballet, modern at the University of Wisconsin, and studied technique with Martha Graham and other notable pioneers. She taught at Wheaton College (Norton, MA), had her own studio (Studio 3 in Scarsdale, NY) as well as “Y’s” in Scarsdale and New Canaan, CT. In addition, she directed, produced, and distributed dance accompaniment LP’s through her record company, Synchronized Sound. In mid-life she swerved and became a fiduciary accountant. Mayers says “It has been a very long slog – 13 years! As a founding director, I never doubted our success because of the brilliance of Leymis as a choreographer and her loving personality as a teacher and director. What amazes me is the height of our success, which is in no small part attributable to board president Shane Chalke, who joined in 2013.” “Naming the box office after Muriel Gordon Mayers was not only the right thing to do but it was well deserved. Her ability to memorize details and keep our records out of the red has always been a gift. There is no way that I could ever repay her for how much she has poured into my life personally and as mentor in business. It would not have been possible to maintain the level of artistic growth that needed to happen for the company to be successful if Muriel was not behind the scenes writing grants and managing all aspects administratively and financially. My heart is full to have been able to celebrate with Muriel on her 90th birthday and let her know that the sacrifices she has put into building a professional contemporary dance company in Sarasota have paid off. The company has become a staple in the art scene with deep roots thanks to her”, says Leymis Bolaños Wilmott, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of SCD. Cheers to Muriel! About Sarasota Contemporary DanceSarasota Contemporary Dance was formed in 2002 as Fuzión Dance Artists, Sarasota’s first contemporary dance company, by Co-Founders Leymis Bolaños Wilmott and Rachael Inman. Now in its 13th season, the company was renamed in 2015, and continues to bring dance to the community through eclectic performances and educational programming, while collaborating with artists and community groups to enrich the human experience.
