THE ARTISTS: Teresa Johnson, M.A.
DANCE AT THE TOP OF THE HILL!
photo: Am Wu
Years Moving/Dancing: over 47 years
About Teresa Johnson: Teresa Johnson began dancing in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, at age 15 in Vicky Paige Dance Studio. She started with jazz dance, but soon added ballet, tap, and acrobatics. After moving to California in 1968, Teresa pursued dance at Orange Coast College, where she trained in Modern Dance. From 1972-74 she lived on a U.S. Air Force base in Italy, where she taught ballet, jazz dance, and acrobatics to children and adults.
After returning from Italy, Teresa attended UC Santa Barbara where she earned a B.A. degree in Dance in 1979. During her years at UCSB, Teresa was a member of Repertory-West Dance Company (which later evolved into Santa Barbara Dance Theatre). In 1986, she earned an M.A. in Dance at UCLA. While in the Los Angeles area for ten years, Teresa taught ballet, jazz dance, and tap at many locations, including Falcon Studios in Hollywood, and West L.A. College in Culver City. Teresa returned to Santa Barbara in 1989 and became active teaching dance classes for children in numerous local after-school programs, as well as adult classes for the Santa Barbara Dept. of Parks & Recreation, and the UCSB Leisure Program.
In 1999 she and swing dance partner, Chris Stewart, founded Swing Fever Productions. They performed and taught Savoy Style Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, and Charleston for five years, and directed a performance team of ten dancers for two years. Teresa and Chris even experienced dancing on top of Little Richard’s piano during his performance at the Ventura County Fair in 2002!
Teresa has been involved in the local Santa Barbara Dance Alliance since its inception in 1979. Her involvement has included the roles of performer, choreographer, production director, and administrative assistant. She currently teaches private swing dance lessons at Santa Barbara Dance Center, and is the studio’s administrative assistant. Teresa has a website called youthful-seniors-advice.com (which reflects her experiences as a dancer who continues to be very active in dance, even though she is now sixty-two years old). Her newest calling is to use the website to encourage people to drop the “over the hill” mindset that many buy into after age forty. She invites people to replace that popular worn-out phrase with “live at the top of the hill” which is much more positive!
Teresa has invited 10 other choreographers over age 40 to join her in presenting a show at Center Stage Theater on October 4, 2009. Its title is “DANCE AT THE TOP OF THE HILL!” The show will include a wide variety of dance forms: contemporary, jazz, swing, Latin, dance theater, and belly dance. Teresa’s vision is that the community will recognize that many dancers continue doing their art well beyond age 40, and be inspired by their passion and determination.
Choreographic works that will be presented: "Crazy Legs!" & "Only in Your Arms... a memoir"
About "Crazy Legs"
"Crazy Legs!" is a lively, fun combination of jazz dance and swing to fast-tempo music by the legendary Chick Webb. A tribute to the Swing Era, the piece begins with Johnson doing a solo before being joined by 13-year old Kassidy Curtis. After a lively duet, Johnson and Curtis are joined by Derrick and Trudie (Kassidy's real life dad and step-mom!) The quartet proceed to shine, finishing with some swing dips and aerials.
About "Only in Your Arms...a memoir"
This is a balletic contemporary piece based upon life experience as well as Kahlil Gibran's poem on LOVE... especially this exerpt: "For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth." Music is by John Williams