Burr Johnson

I make dances that I want to see. The inspiration for my dance-making comes from watching other dances and noticing problems and questions that arise. I use my curiosity to create work that is in dialogue with dances that I remember vividly. By creating a choreographic response to choreography, I situate my work deep in the traditions of concert dance. This commitment to dance is evident in my movement style: visceral, voracious, and unapologetic in its technicality. Where references to dance history, nature, and queer popular culture emerge, I take caution to work with sincerity. With an aversion to irony and making fun of dance, I aim to give everything I have to the audience. Eliminating acting from the dance equation, dances are performed with a generous, honest presence. Above all else, I work by the words “Dance is enough.”

Burr Johnson is a dancer and choreographer living in Brooklyn. He is from Virginia Beach, VA and holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a performer, he has worked with Shen Wei Dance Arts since 2009 and with John Jasperse Projects since 2010. With Jasperse, he originated a new role in “Canyon” and expanded a role in “Fort Blossom Revisited”(2000/2012). On occasion, he works with Helen Simoneau and Christopher Williams. He also performed in two reconstructions of Laura Dean’s choreography: “Tympani” (1980/2008) and “Infinity” (1990/2009). He has taught dance technique classes at Henrico Center for the Performing Arts, through WFSS at the American Dance Festival, as a guest at the University of Utah, and for the Philadelphia University of the Arts Pre-college program. His choreographic work has been presented through Movement Research at Judson Church, Underexposed at Dixon Place, RoofTopDance, OneArmRed, Elizabeth Dee Gallery, Location One Gallery, Josée Bienvenu Gallery, Le Petit Versailles, and Danspace Project. Two recent works, “Special Collections” and “Shimmering Islands”, were commissioned by Danspace project in May 2012 through funding from the Jerome Foundation and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. In his spare moments away from dance, Burr is either gardening or feeding stray cats in Bushwick.

Find out more at http://burrjohnson.wordpress.com/

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