Founded by Merli V. Guerra and Kimberleigh A. Holman in Boston in 2010, Luminarium Dance Company is an award-winning contemporary dance company now in its seventh season that is regularly hailed for its unique combination of dance and light. Luminarium’s mission is two-fold, stemming from the word “luminary” (n. 1. a body that gives off light 2. sheds light on some subject or enlightens mankind). The company has performed its repertory in venues ranging from New York City to California. Key venues include: The Boston Opera House, American Repertory Theater’s OBERON, Boston Center for the Arts, Mobius Alternative Arts Space, UMass Fine Arts Center, Mount Holyoke College, Outside the Box, the WGBH Boston Summer Arts Weekend (MA); Seacoast Fringe Festival (NH); Southern Vermont Dance Festival (VT); Ithaca College, Jennifer Muller/The Works (NY/NYC); Wiscasset Art Walk (ME); and the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles (CA). Guerra and Holman were praised as “unsung heroes” in the Boston arts scene, with Luminarium featured as one of ten “stellar organizations that may have slipped under your radar” in the Spring 2013 issue of Improper Bostonian magazine. In its third year, the company was invited to showcase its work at the prestigious Fine Arts Center Concert Hall (Amherst MA), whose 2013–14 professional dance series was comprised solely of Kyle Abraham, Parsons Dance, Time Lapse Dance, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Luminarium Dance Company. The company’s latest project was a commission to open TEDxCambridge—the largest TED event in the world—which debuted on June 9, 2016, at the famous Boston Opera House to an audience of 2,600.

In total, Luminarium has presented 18 major productions in addition to hosting and making guest appearances at dozens of yearly events. The company regularly conducts arts-based community outreach projects: Several for underserved youth throughout the city, including the company’s  DANCE+ Series, merging dance with other fields such as science, technology, music, and light; an annual Cultural Community Outreach Project, using dance and art to highlight a local historical or cultural landmark; and produces America’s only 24-Hour ChoreoFest each season, giving emerging and renowned local choreographers an opportunity to create new work overnight in a supportive and mentored environment. Luminarium is proud to support its seven company members and many guest artists who join the company from Greater Boston, while its artistic directors act as panelists, judges, and guest lecturers at colleges and art institutions throughout New England.