Today we’d like to introduce you to Anisa Johnson
Hi Anisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Dance is something that started as a childhood interest and developed into my career and more importantly, my passion. Having started at age four, dance was my first love. As a child, any moment I was not in school, I was at the studio, training for upcoming competitions and exploring the techniques of tap, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip hop, and ballet. Going into higher education for the arts at UC Irvine was a long held aspiration of mine. I was well aware of the prestige their dance department held and was inspired by the thought provoking works of Donald McKayle. Since enrolling at UCI, in just four short years, I feel I have been able to develop the start of my career in and beyond UCI. Within the University, I have been able to continue my technical practice while performing for renowned choreographers such as Cyrian Reed, S. Ama Wray, Chad Hall, Lindsay Gilmour, and Lar Lubovitch. I am the founder of two clubs on campus, Sole Rhythms Tap Club and The Jazz Co-Lab, and help re-establish the Movement Exchange chapter at UCI. As a choreography student, I got the opportunity to audition and put to stage my own choreography for the department production of Physical Graffiti in 2024. On my campus is located the Irvine Barclay Theater where I work at the box office and have been exposed to the world of Arts Management and Administration. Beyond UCI, Orange County has been so generous with opportunities for dance. I tap dance at Orange Coast College with Linda Sohl-Ellison who helps keep tap dance alive in academia. At this point in my career, I find myself to be very curious with my art, exploring creative ways to push boundaries of what is accepted in dance. I like to fuse styles and cross artistic mediums in my work. The main styles I work in are tap dance and contemporary but the surrounding techniques help to support all movement I create. As I complete university, I have a secure feeling for how important it is to keep art in my life. Dance has grounded me by being a constant resource for expression and presence motivating me to go wherever dance takes me next.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Having a life that involves dance is an extreme privilege. Witnessing my parents work themselves to the bone to afford my dance training made me aware at a young age how fortunate I was to be in the position to dance every day. A childhood of this nature however, is not one without challenges. For many artists, work is personal. Rather than a hobby, growing up I was launching my career. There is a level of commitment and passion necessary to find your love for the craft below the layers of struggle and hurt that accrues with such a long span of disciplined training. Since dancers utilize their body as their medium, they are taught to critique the appearance of their reflection by staring into mirrors for hours upon hours before our brain is anywhere near finishing developing. There has been pressure to keep myself in shape since before I knew what “in shape” meant. It takes hours of personal exploration beyond my training for me to appreciate the sensation of movement beyond aesthetic appearances. Following their every move, dance instructors were influential role models of mine and I learned to respect them but this meant that their opinions held a lot of weight. I had many instructors who would feed on the power of making us feel small and lesser than them. We were reminded that no one is indispensable and constantly compared to our peers which created a competitive environment where our self worth was dependent on us being better than someone else. While refraining parents from observing may eliminate distractions, children are very vulnerable and it is important to be careful with who we trust to take care of them. Instructors that raised me turned out to be some of the most dangerous people in my life to not only me but many of my close friends. All of these experiences showed me how working in the arts cannot be anything but personal; for the strength of my passion cannot come from anyone other than myself.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Movement art is my specialty. While I deeply enjoy collaboration across multiple art forms, for as long as I have been alive, I have had a love for dance performance and choreography. With versatility, I perform in the styles of tap, modern, hip hop, jazz, contemporary, and contemporary ballet; all of which inform my choreographic work. My creations range greatly in dynamic from piece to piece as I cross-reference multiple styles to carry out conceptual projects and rhythmic exploration through percussive and vocal integration. A sense of community and interaction are often integrated into my choreography through use of counterpoint and weight sharing amongst the dancers. During my time at University, I have researched the connections that are fostered through dance socially, historically, and emotionally grounding my creativity in care for the intention of the movement. Attending a research-based university really impacted my ability to employ artistry in my movement without losing the curiosity in using dance as a tool for research.
To further continue my interest in organic interaction through art, I help create opportunities with dance clubs I am in charge of at my University. Along with the help of my peers, I run three clubs: Sole Rhythms Tap Club, Jazz Co-Lab, and Movement Exchange at UCI. Sole Rhythms was created out of our passion for tap dance and a yearning for space for the tap dance community. We offer space for improvisation, workshops, and classes with experts from the field for our members to engage with the craft of tap dancing. Jazz Co-Lab unites jazz dancers and musicians by gathering them to engage in the conversation of improvisation across mediums of expression. I helped to re-establish Movement Exchange at UCI through the help of the International organization which has connected us with chapters in Panama to perform movement exchanges with over the summer breaks. Through these exchanges, members from the university are exposed to a cultural experience abroad while sharing embodied knowledge as I was able to this past July 2024. I am honored to be a leader for these organizations. By gathering communities of like-minded individuals, I find empowerment to engage in activities that encourage my passions and values.
What matters most to you?
Nature is fascinating to me. I am inspired by the how each individual species plays its part in the whole community of living and non-living things. In the way rocks build mountains and decayed creatures create fertility, there is a chain of support and an admirable sense of trust fostering a harmonious relationship amongst the natural world. Engaging with nature is something I have to prioritize in my life to rejuvenate my sense of self and my creativity too. I am particularly fond of trees. I love to observe trees, sit in trees, and even choreograph with trees; treating it like a partner and base of support for dancing in. Trees have such an expansive quality in their way of reaching across all directions of their kinesphere. The are grounded through a deeply rooted base, while simultaneously having the light and airiness in their leaves brushing through the wind. Trees maintain their beauty and wonder through all stages of life they move through. Observing the peacefully dynamic quality of trees inspires me a lot in movement as well as my choreography. When I die I want to be planted as a tree to continue to explore space through my limbs while deepening a connection to the Earth below ground.
Pricing:
- Contact for Anisa for inquiries on collaborative projects and performance opportunities as well as pricing for private and group lessons.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anisacaroj/
Image Credits
Image 1:
© 2024 UC Regents, all rights reserved. Photo by Rose Eichenbaum
Johnson partnering with Ryan Robinson in Coltrane’s Favorite Things by Lar Lubovitch
Image 2:
© 2024 UC Regents, all rights reserved. Photo by Sam Zausch
Johnson in Irises, by Brooke Manning
Image 3:
© 2024 UC Regents, all rights reserved. Photo by Sam Zausch
Johnson partnering Kaylia Pham in Kenopsia by João Ducci
Image 4:
© 2024 UC Regents, all rights reserved. Photo by Sam Zausch
Dancers in Jamais Vu Choreographed by Johnson
Dancers: Natalie Aronno, Yuki Miyata, Calista Bennett, and Alyssa Zavala
