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AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2014-2015
| OCTOBER 3 - OCTOBER 29
In 1997, after 28 years of graceful-
ly leaping, spinning and pirouetting
with the Dance Theatre of Harlem,
Virginia Johnson, one of the compa-
ny’s founding members, hung up her
ballet shoes.
She could finally melt into “a
real, normal life,” free of the demands
of intense rehearsals, during which
she often cried, and grueling tours
with long performances around the
world.
But soon into her retirement,
the Washington native didn’t know
what to do with herself. She was
bored out of her mind.
In 2010, more than 40 years after
Johnson’s mentor, dancer-chore-
ographer Arthur Mitchell, found-
ed Dance Theatre of Harlem, the
nation’s first black classical bal-
let company, she returned to the
organization as its artistic director.
“The kind of challenges, the kind of
demands I had faced as a dancer -
most people that I encountered out-
side of this world weren’t into that
much hard work,” Johnson says from
her office in Harlem, N.Y. “They were
much more casual about the way
they lived. I like that high-pressure
existence, so I’m happy to be here.”
The touring performances are
among the company’s first since
reopening last year after a 10-year
hiatus due to budgetary constraints.
As she oversees the operation,
Johnson wants to make sure the
refined world of ballet becomes
more accessible in an age of tenta-
tive, almost nonexistent attention
spans. The outreach work,
long an integral part of the company,
is a primary focus, Johnson says.“It’s
to get people to understand that
ballet is just another language,” says
Johnson, 64. “If you were a basket-
ball player, there are movements that
are a part of that language. So there
are moves that are a part of ballet
that are very easy to do. It’s an intro-
duction to demystify that idea of this
art form as something that is remote
from everyday life.”
Dancers conduct master classes
Virginia Johnson
Original dancer now Dance
Theatre Harlem director
By Rashod Ollison
The Virginian-Pilot © May 12, 2014
Davon Doane in Gloria, Photo by Matthew Murphy
