The Global Search for Education: Gone: Dance, Loss, and the Art of Letting Go

Mimi Garrard — hailed by The New York Times for her “intimately glowing dances” and described by the Charlotte Observer as “a step ahead of her time” — returns to Planet Classroom’s YouTube channel this month with Gone, a haunting dance film exploring grief, loss, and healing.

Created in collaboration with longtime dance partner Samuel Roberts and inspired by composer Jonathan Melville Pratt’s elegy for a friend, Gone fuses emotionally charged movement, expressive close-ups, and a striking transition from color to black-and-white. Critics have long celebrated Garrard’s originality, artistic rigor, and ability to reveal “meaning in the universe.” In Gone, she continues this bold tradition — inviting audiences to experience the quiet power of dance as a universal language of sorrow, transcendence, and renewal.

Mimi — your film is inspired by grief and loss. How did you approach translating those emotions into movement, choreography, and visual design?

Jon Pratt, the composer, lost a dear friend. He composed the music for Gone, and I used the music as my guide. The use of black and white with color added to the sense of grief and loss. Samuel Roberts, the dancer, is a good actor, and I used his ability to project loss in all of the shots. I think the use of very close shots of Sam’s face also added to the sense of grief.

The contrast between black-and-white and color is striking. How did you use these shifts to deepen the emotional arc of the film?

The slow fade from color to black and white in both the dancer and the background gave a sense of sadness. This was my primary tool. With layering, I can create very slow fades. That change in color shifts the mood of the piece in a remarkable way.

How has your long-standing collaboration with Samuel Roberts shaped your approach to choreography, especially in a film as personal as Gone?

I’ve worked with Sam since 2006. He has changed so much over time. He’s now a dancer/actor. In the beginning, he wanted me to choreograph every moment. Now, he loves to improvise. I let him explore before we begin shooting, and we can create a huge amount of expressive material quickly. He’s at his prime.

What larger themes about loss and transformation do you hope Gone leaves with audiences today?

I think life is about loss. Before we die, we lose everything that we once valued. This lets us become part of the fabric of life.

Mimi, thank you so much.

C.M. Rubin with Mimi Garrard

Watch Gone now on Planet Classroom’s YouTube channel.