Remembering a Beloved Teacher.Remembering a Beloved Teacher Bernice "BJ" Virginia Johnson, Nov 22, 1911 to Oct 7, 2005 Former chorus girl at The Cotton Club, featured dancer at The Apollo Theater, cast by Agnes de Mille Noun 1. Agnes de Mille - United States dancer and choreographer who introduced formal dance to a wide audience (1905-1993) Agnes George de Mille, de Mille on Broadway in Black Ritual and Swingin' the Dream, BJ Johnson began teaching in Queens during the 1940s. She called her students and alumni "Bjaps." The Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center closed its doors in 2000, but Johnson's legacy lives on in the students who have gone on to perform with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a modern dance company based in New York, New York. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 30 dancers as well as artistic director Judith Jamison and associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya. , Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem, the first black classical ballet company. The group was founded in Harlem, New York City, by Arthur Mitchell, then of the New York City Ballet, the first black principal dancer of a classical company of international standing. , Twyla Thaw, Lar Lubovitch, and Ballet Hispanico, as well as on Broadway (including Ben Vereen, Michael Peters, and Lester Wilson). Her memorial service was held in November at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts, more formally known as The School of Performing Arts: A Division of the Fiorello H La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts, informally known as "PA", was a public alternative high school in New York, New York, USA that existed from 1948 in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Peter Anthony Moore, who was the swing for the original east of The Lion King, is one of many former students who were inspired by her. "She had a face like Lena Home, and when she smiled, you felt like the best person in the world," he says. |
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