Carole Johnson (dancer)
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Carole Yvonne Johnson (born 1940) is an African American
contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...
r and
choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
, known for her role in the establishment of the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), and as co-founder of Bangarra Dance Theatre in Australia. Early in her career she became a lead dancer in the
Eleo Pomare Dance Company Eleo Pomare (20 October 1937 – 8 August 2008) was a Colombian-American modern dance choreographer. Known for his politically-charged productions depicting the Black experience, his work had a major influence on contemporary dance, especially Bla ...
, and Pomare had a profound influence on her dancing style. She is also an activist, arts administrator and researcher.


Early life and education

Carole Yvonne Johnson was born in
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
of
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
descent. Her father, Fred S. A. Johnson, formed a branch of the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
in North Philadelphia, and Carole grew up
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. The family was
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
, and she trained in
classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...
as a child. As a teenager, she studied at the
Philadelphia Ballet Guild Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-1950 ...
under British choreographer
Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-1950 ...
(who founded the school in the mid-1950s, and mentored black students there). She also trained under Sydney Gibson King. After graduating from high school, she was introduced to modern dance at
Adelphi College Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...
in
Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...
. In 1960, she was accepted into the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts. During her studies, she also attended further technique classes with the New Dance Group.


Early career

Staying in NYC, Johnson continued dance studies in ballet and jazz dance, at the same time teaching at various schools in New York, including the
Waltann School of Creative Arts The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and at the
Harlem YMCA The Harlem YMCA is located at 180 West 135th Street between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1931-32, the red-brown brick building with neo-Georgian details was ...
. She also performed with a number of ballet companies, including Ballet Guild, Ballet Players and Ballet Concepts. In 1966 she joined the
Eleo Pomare Dance Company Eleo Pomare (20 October 1937 – 8 August 2008) was a Colombian-American modern dance choreographer. Known for his politically-charged productions depicting the Black experience, his work had a major influence on contemporary dance, especially Bla ...
. The company practised modern dance and focused on "the black experience through political expression", and Johnson became a principal dancer within the troupe. In December 1966, Johnson performed the work presented ''Gin. Woman. Distress.'' with Australian dancer Elizabeth Cameron Dalman at the Choreographic Workshop Series of the Association of Black Choreographers. She later said that "Pomare made me the dancer that I am today... I was very technical, which he liked, but he managed to pull all my emotion out". In 1968 (or earlier?) along with
Eleo Pomare Eleo Pomare (20 October 1937 – 8 August 2008) was a Colombian-American modern dance choreographer. Known for his politically-charged productions depicting the Black experience, his work had a major influence on contemporary dance, especially Bl ...
, Rod Rodgers, Gus Solomon and Pearl Reynolds, Johnson formed the Association of Black Choreographers. Includes link to extensiv
interview notes
summarising the videoed interview.
This was the predecessor to the Modern Organization for Dance Evolvement, known as MODE. Its stated emphases were "to be of service to professionals in dance, and to be an educational and informational organisation for the general public and people in other professions interested in dance", and its 12 listed goals showed a focus on black dance. In 1970 Johnson founded and became the editor of ''The Feet'' (also styled ''THE FEET'' and ''The FEET''), a magazine for black dancers which was published from 1970 to 1973 (23 issues) as a project of MOD, with its final anniversary edition published in June 1973. Bernadine Jennings, who worked under Johnson at the time and later established and ran Dance Giant Steps to promote professional dance artists and companies, was a contributor to the magazine. Contributors included Chuck Davis, Rod Rodgers, and
Zita Allen Zita (c. 1212 – 27 April 1272; also known as Sitha or Citha) is an Italian saint, the patron saint of maids and domestic servants. She is often appealed to in order to help find lost keys. She is often confused with St. Osyth or Ositha, ...
(a founding contributor), and ''The Feet'' was later edited by Alicia Adams. In the final issue of ''The Feet'', Johnson listed several accomplishments of MODE: a new dance service award (with the inaugural one given to
Ismay Andrews Ismay Andrews was one of the earliest major teachers of African dance in the United States. Her career started in 1929 as a stage actress, and she taught dance in community centers in New York City from 1934 to 1959. Stage actor Andrews bega ...
, an early teacher of many later luminaries); a television panel discussion; a community dance series; and the First National Congress on Blacks in Dance, held at
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
, from 26 June to 1 July 1973. In 1971, Johnson was awarded a fellowship by the
New York State Council The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996), ...
to travel to
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
and
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
to study traditional dance in those countries, and to study and teach at the
University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...
. Johnson's work contributed to a definition of "Black dance"; she saw it as "first and foremost, movement that is not limited to any one particular technique, vocabulary or style".


Work in Australia

In 1972, the Eleo Pomare Dance Company toured to Australia to perform the
Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, and
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, supported by the
Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...
. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 2.0 Australia (CC BY 2.0 AU)
licence.
The company performed their signature piece ''Blues for the Jungle'' on this tour, which, according to Johnson, "really excited the blacks who saw for the first time how the contemporary arts could be used to convey relevant social messages". Johnson, who was at that time the leading dancer in the company, decided to stay on in Australia for a while, to help develop dance performances by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
dancers. At the Adelaide Festival, Johnson was introduced to Jennifer Isaacs, Indigenous officer for the Australia Council, by South African visual artist Bauxhau Stone (who had been working with
Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...
artists in the Central Desert). This meeting led to funding for Johnson to deliver training in the form of dance workshops in the inner-Sydney suburb of Redfern, on the Sydney leg of the tour. Johnson set up a six-week Aboriginal modern dance workshop, (in which dancer
Cheryl Stone Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-born C ...
participated). As part of the drive to save the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, she created ''The Challenge - Embassy Dance'', featuring students from the workshops, including Wayne Nicol; Norma Williams (Ingram); Euphemia "Phemie" Bostock and her daughter Tracey; and sisters Elsie and Joanne Vesper. Johnson compared the situation of urban
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
to Black people living in
ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
conditions in New York. She left Australia after the workshop. Johnson returned to Australia twice during the following three years to hold workshops in Sydney. By 1973, Redfern had become a hive of social and political activity and activism. She became involved with the National Black Theatre that had been established in Redfern, at the same time being appointed as urban theatre consultant for the Aboriginal Arts Board (of the Australia Council). She strove to see urban Aboriginal people reconnecting to their roots, with their diverse communities getting together to produce song and dance, at the same time providing exposure of these cultures to a wider (non-Indigenous) audience. She was involved with
Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...
's ''Cradle of Hercules'' in 1974, and then ran workshops in contemporary dance workshops in collaboration with the Black Theatre workshop, which had been created in Sydney by Jenny Sheehan (aka Jenni(e) van de Steenhaven), a young non-Indigenous drama student from the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
, Paul Coe, and Bob Maza. Coe and Maza were from
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, and had studied theatre in the U.S. with black actors and directors there. In 1975 she worked with Brian Syron to develop a six-week dance training program. This opened with a performance by Pastor Brady's Yelangi Dance Company and Stephen Mam's Torres Strait Island / Waiben Dancers. In 1976 this program grew into a professional dance course for Indigenous Australians, called "Careers in Dance", which became a subsidiary of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme (AISDS), with Johnson as founding executive director. (Later, in 1988, this was renamed National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association, or NAISDA. The
Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) was the first dance company used to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on their dancing career, and grew into a performance group. Originating in the National Aboriginal and Islander Ski ...
(AIDT), the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contemporary dance company, developed out of AISDS, as a student performing group (and later separated from NAISDA). Over the years, Johnson developed relationships with Yolngu dancers from Yirrkala and Lardil people from
Mornington Island Mornington Island, also known as Kunhanhaa, is an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Shire of Mornington (Queensland), Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. It is the northernmost and largest of 22 islands that form the Wellesley I ...
(Kunhanha). In 1988, Johnson left,
Raymond D. Blanco Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
became the new head of the organisation, and AISDS was renamed National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA). In 1989, she co-founded, along with Rob Bryant and South-African-born
Cheryl Stone Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-born C ...
, Bangarra Dance Theatre, and became its founding
artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
.
Stephen Page Stephen George Page (born 1965) is an Australian choreographer, film director and former dancer. He is the current artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre, an Indigenous Australian dance company. Page is descended from the Nunukul peopl ...
took over the directorship in 1991, and Johnson continued her work in related venues, dividing her time between Australia and the United States.


Later work and research

In the U.S., Johnson worked at Black Dance conferences in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and lectured on contemporary Australian Indigenous dance. In 1994 she returned to Australia to work full-time with the
Department of Human Services and Health The Department of Human Services and Health was an Australian government department that had existed between December 1993 and March 1996. The Department was created when the Department of Health, Housing, Local Government and Communit ...
, developing arts workshops for isolated Indigenous communities. , she was conducting a postgraduate degree by research at the
Purai Global Indigenous History Centre The University of Newcastle (UON), informally known as Newcastle University, is a public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan. The university als ...
of the University of Newcastle in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. Her thesis is entitled "NAISDA and Indigenous urban Dance in Australia in the 1980s: A story of political activism, community development and transnational cooperation and creativity!".


Recognition and awards

*1999: Induction into the Hall of Fame,
Australian Dance Awards The Australian Dance Awards recognise excellence and promote dance in Australia. They are awarded under the auspices of the Australian Dance Council (Ausdance) for performance, choreography, design, dance writing, teaching and related professions. ...
*2003:
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...
, "For service to Australian society through dance and the Indigenous community"


Impact and legacy

Many academic and other works cite the influence of Johnson on Indigenous Australian dance as well as the definition of black dance.


Works

With the Eleo Pomare company, Johnson danced in the following works, among others: *''The Angels Are Watching Over Me'' *''Construction in Green'' *''From the Soul'' *''Gin, Woman, Distress'', as
Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...
* ''Jailhouse Blues'', as Angela Davis


Footnotes


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Listen
An oral history interview recorded 7-8 February 2011 at the National Library of Australia, Canberra. * (57:36), interview with Tracie O'Keefe {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Carole Adelphi University alumni 1940 births Living people American women choreographers American choreographers Modern dancers Juilliard School alumni