Emily Johnson

Emily Johnson (born March 19, 1976, in Soldotna, Alaska) is an American dancer,

Dance and community One distinguishing characteristic of Johnson's work is community involvement in particular located places. Among the motivating concerns for The thank you bar (trilogy part 1) were community and tribal responses to displacement. In Vermont, Minnesota, Alaska, California, and Arizona, she invited members of the community to sew fish skin together to form lanterns. These lantern were subsequently hung, with lights and speakers inside, to illuminate halls where Niicugni (trilogy part 2) was performed. Johnson organized a recent work, Then a cunning voice and a night we spend gazing at stars, with community quiltmaking workshops. The quilts became part of the set for the dance performance.

This community involvement in dance echoes other dance forms, which are often less formal and outside of the usual definition of "contemporary" dance, such as participatory dance Participation Dance and ceremonial dance Ceremonial Dance. Johnson's oeuvre may be seen as a bridge between community and cultural contexts, on the one hand, and the world of contemporary artistry, on the other hand. As Vermont Performance Lab director Sara Coffey observes, there may be a tension between artistic vision and openness to community: "I think it's very brave in the contemporary dance world to let all these others into your work... You don't always have control of what that's going to be. I think Emily, as an artist, wants a place to rub off on her work as much as she wants to rub off on the place where she's performing". ).

Awards Emily Johnson / Catalyst was awarded a 2012 Outstanding Production ("new art, dance and performance") Bessie Award