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Home / Programs / Community Chats / Dance Is My Passport: Becoming a Multidisciplinary Artist with Djassi DaCosta Johnson

Dance Is My Passport: Becoming a Multidisciplinary Artist with Djassi DaCosta Johnson

In this community chat, Djassi DaCosta Johnson took participants through her journey from Modern dancer to Multidisciplinary artist, with local stops at the historic Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and Dance Theater of Harlem. Djassi showed participants how to “choreograph” their own artistic path and write a poetic artist statement expressing all that you are, while fully rejecting the notion you need to be any less.

FEATURED VIDEOS:

  • Dance Reel: Djassi DaCosta Johnson
  • THOUGHT OF YOU
  • SLEEPLESS 

PROMPT: ARTIST STATEMENT FOR #JACKMASTERS

Write an artist statement, starting with “I Am…”, that proudly claims all that you are. Check out some of the amazing artist statements our community wrote!

"I am truly and wholly me, I am everything I ever wanted to be." —Writing 360 Mentee Alum

"I am one of love and whom is loved, I am one of water and moonlight, which is magic." —Community Chat Participant

RECOMMENDED VIEWING:

  • Djassui’s Vimeo Channel 
  • Bethania Ingrid 4: Mini documentary on the Brazillian Continuum at The Dance Theater of Harlem
  • “ACOSTA DANZA, CUBA!” EXCERPT: Documentary Short profiling 6 dancers from the world-renowned classical ballet company, ACOSTA DANZA

 

 

Djassi DaCosta Johnson is a native New Yorker, classically trained modern dancer, choreographer, photographer, filmmaker, designer, writer, Doula and Womb Healer. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Barnard and an MFA in Dance, New Media & Technology from NYU Tisch as a Dean’s Fellow. Ms. DaCosta Johnson has taken photos and published writings throughout her touring career and time living abroad as a dancer & choreographer, in both Brazil and then Italy for 7 years, working on film & television.  She has toured, apprenticed and performed with MOMIX, Dance Brazil, Earl Mosley, Bill T. Jones, Hernando Cortez and Urban Bush Women among others. She has choreographed and performed in music videos for Joan Baez and Gloria Gaynor among others, as well as as an actor in films including The Intern & Bolden! Djassi is passionate about what she calls “filming the moving body” and in addition to dance films and choreography for the camera, she produces documentaries on pioneers of color in the ballet and modern dance worlds and has two small documentaries on dance in Cuba, and the Brazilian presence at the Dance Theater of Harlem. As a solo performance artist she has collaborated with visual artists and jazz musicians for performance pieces and site-specific works with PERFORMA and Arts for Art in NYC, as well as throughout Europe and South America. Ms. DaCosta Johnson is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance, building the first dance program at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Croix.  She continues to create art, do solo performance work, photography, make dance films and write for KINFOLK, {DIYdancer}, The Daily News, TRACE and Playbill among other outlets.  Her storytelling, whether through movement, words, images or film sprouts from her  dance roots in NYC, her passion for, and the intricate art of reaching people’s intellect and heart through the  moving body.

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Life Resources and Events

At Girls Write Now, we work to challenge and change the systemic racism and inequality by breaking down the barriers of race and poverty to elevate the voices of girls and gender nonconforming youth who are too often not heard—or worse, silenced. From mental and emotional wellness to advocating for racial justice, we are here to support you individually and as a community through our robust programming. Check out our calendar to see our current offerings or visit our Life Resources page to support you during this time.

Friday Night Salon with Keisha Bush

Join us on Friday, March 5, 6-7:30 PM ET for a Using the Micro to Write the Macro: Starting a Novel with Keisha Bush!

We’re Hiring!

Looking for more purpose-driven work in the new year? Check out available roles to join the team! 

GIVE. WRITE. NOW. And Thank you!!

Girls Write Now’s services are more essential than ever before—serving the hardest hit communities—and many of our young women and gender nonconforming youth have themselves become essential workers to help their families. They carry an enormous burden and face devastating loss, slipping further into poverty. To meet the need, we have enriched and extended our programs, leading the historical transition to virtual learning.

Get Involved!

Are you a licensed mental health professional who’d love to work with our community of writers and creatives? We’re seeking volunteer Wellness Advisors. Get more info & apply here!

Relive the Girls (Re)Write Now Awards

If you missed the awards, you can still watch it! Relive this revolutionary night of mini–master classes with honorees on empathy, art, activism & humor and Girls Write Now mentees on writing with purpose, climate justice & self-care. 

Writing from our Future Leaders

Taking Our Place in History: the Girls Write Now 2020 Anthology was published with support from Dutton and Amazon Literary Partnership, available for purchase from McNally Jackson Books and anywhere ebooks are sold!

Girls Write Now in the News

Girls Write Now’s work has recently been featured by the National Endowment for the Arts, Time Out New York, NYXT and more!

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