Friday, January 8, 2027 | 7:00–10:00 PM
30 Years of Cora: New Year's Benefit Showcase: In Support of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance Programs at Richmond Movement Center, 14 E. Broad Street, Richmond, VA
Tickets will be available this fall. For more information or press inquiries, email company@coradance.org
Join Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance (SH/CD) for an unforgettable evening celebrating the launch of 30 Years of Cora: Rewind and the company's growing presence in the Richmond dance community. Held at Richmond Movement Center, where Founder and Choreographer Shannon Hummel serves as the organization's first Choreographer-in-Residence, this festive New Year's Benefit Showcase celebrates SH/CD's expanding presence throughout Central Virginia and inaugurates a year of Rewind performances featuring milestone works by the company in New York and Virginia.
Eat, drink, mingle, and enjoy pop-up performances spanning nearly three decades of Hummel's choreography, performed by past and present SH/CD artists and special guests. The evening features selections from COMMON DANCES (2015), performed by SH/CD Company Members Nikki Assanti, Ammara Shafqat, and Keon Washington; Are We There Yet? (2026), performed by the Henrico High School Performing Arts Center Dance Ensemble; and the first full preview of Hummel's new work-in-progress, Vessel. Developed during her residency at Richmond Movement Center, Vessel is performed by Assanti, Shafqat, Washington, longtime Cora Guest Artist and James Madison University Dance Professor Emeritus Cynthia Thompson, and SH/CD's newest company member, Richmond-based dance artist Taylor Black.
The evening culminates with revival performances of Had You Been Here and Down a Small Road, Hummel's first showcase and first evening-length works, originally performed in New York City in 1998 and 1999. Reimagined for upcoming 30 Years of Cora: Rewind celebrations, these landmark works will be performed by SH/CD's Apprentice Company, newly re-established in Richmond/Petersburg, marking an exciting new chapter in the company's artistic legacy and its commitment to developing work within the Richmond dance community. Had You Been Here and Down a Small Road feature SH/CD Apprentice Company/Appomattox Regional Governor's School dancers Brynn Hawkins, Natalia McNair, and Tallulah Schemmel with company member Taylor Black.
The evening concludes with a community dance party, inviting guests to celebrate the New Year—and the next 30 years of Cora Dance—together.
Evening Schedule
7:00 PM: Doors Open – Food, Drinks & Mingling
7:30 PM: 30 Years of Cora: Rewind featuring selections from COMMON DANCES and Are We There Yet?
8:00 PM: Vessel – Work-in-Progress Preview
8:30 PM: Revival Performances of Had You Been Here and Down a Small Road
9:15 PM: Community Dance Party!
Proceeds from the New Year's Benefit Showcase support the continued development of 30 Years of Cora: Rewind and the establishment of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance's ongoing residency and programming throughout the Richmond region. Tickets will be available this fall. For more information or press inquiries, email company@coradance.org.
Down A Small Road Cover, COMMON DANCES, and Had You Been Here photos by Steve Pisano. Down a Small Road photo above by Heather White. Dancers pictured: Cover: Anais Dallett and Mateo Vidals; COMMON DANCES: Solomon Goodwin and Nadia Tykulsker; Had You Been Here: Evangelina Vargas and Z’Yanah Gonzalez; Down a Small Road above: Ammara Shafqat and Z’Yanah Gonzalez