Virginia Johnson is Dance Theatre of Harlem’s current artistic director and is founding member and principal dancer. Born in Washington, DC, Virginia Johnson graduated from the Academy of the Washington School of Ballet. She briefly attended the School of the Arts at New York University as a University Scholar before joining DTH in 1969. During her 28 years with the company she performed most of the repertoire, with principal roles in Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Agon, A Streetcar Named Desire, Fall River Legend, Swan Lake, Giselle, Voluntaries, Les Biches among others.
Three DTH productions in which she danced leading roles were recorded for broadcast: A Streetcar Named Desire for Dance in America on PBS, Creole Giselle, which was the first full-length ballet broadcast on NBC, and Fall River Legend, which won a cable ACE award from the Bravo Network. In addition, she was included in two acclaimed television dance series, Margot Fonteyn’s “The Magic of Dance” and Natalia Makarova’s “Ballerina.”
Her choreographic credits include the television film, “Ancient Voices of Children” in which she danced and an early, self-produced solo concert for Rae Metzger’s Concert Socials. Later choreographic works include ballets created for Goucher College, Dancers Respond to AIDS, the Second Annual Harlem Festival of the Arts, Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center and Marymount Manhattan College, where she was also an adjunct professor. The latter two projects were an outgrowth of Dancers Making Dances, a collaborative choreographic project with former DTH colleagues, Judy Tyrus and Melanie Person.
While still performing, her interest in journalism led her to Fordham University where she continues to pursue a degree in communications. After retiring from performing, she founded POINTE magazine and was editor-in-chief from 2000-2009. The popular publication helps dancers prepare for the professional ballet world developing educational seminars and lectures on health and wellness for dancers, auditions and professional preparation.
Her honors include a Young Achiever Award from the National Council of Women, Outstanding Young Woman of America and the Dance Magazine Award, a Pen and Brush Achievement Award and the Washington Performing Arts Society’s 2008-2009 Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2009 Martha Hill Fund Mid-Career Award. Highlights of her guest appearances include a tour of Australia with “Stars of World Ballet,” several appearances at various International Festivals of Dance in Havana Cuba, and with the Royal Ballet at The Royal Opera House in London. Her commitment to community service is maintained through volunteer assignments with New York Cares.
Virginia Johnson appears in the following:
Virginia Johnson is Passing the Pointe Shoes
Thursday, April 20, 2023
50 Years of the Dance Theatre of Harlem
Tuesday, April 09, 2019
The Greene Space
EMANCIPATION 150: Black Women in Classical Ballet
Monday, March 4, 2013
7:00 PM
Where are all the Black Swans? A conversation with African American ballet legends and performances by Dance Theatre of Harlem. Featuring Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem; Misty Copeland, American Ballet Theatre Soloist; and Ashley Murphy, Dance Theatre of Harlem Company Ballerina. Watch now.
The Greene Space
Inside Look: The Australian Ballet
Monday, June 11, 2012
7:00 PM
The Australian Ballet has wowed audiences in Paris, London, Tokyo and Shanghai. This June, the acclaimed troupe will celebrate its 50th anniversary in New York—starting with a preview in The Greene Space.
Moderator Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, will welcome The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David ...
