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LOUIS and Friends
Maurice Hines and Louis Johnson
Obba Babatundé and Louis Johnson
Louis Johnson and Carmen de Lavallade
The dancer and actress Carmen de Lavallade, who appeared with him in the 1954 musical “House of Flowers,” always loved watching him
“You know those hard rubber balls that bounce?” Ms. de Lavallade said, also in an interview. “He reminded me of that because he had such elevation, and he was quick and tough. He was low to the ground, but he could get off the floor, and he could jump high.”
“My goodness, he was strong,” she added. “And there was always a sense of humor in his movement — the jauntiness that he had.”
Louis Johnson and Adrian Bailey
MELBA MOORE, LOUIS JOHNSON and GEORGE FAISON
Jill Williams, George Faison, André Robin De Shields, Adrian Bailey and David Robertson with Louis Johnson (seated)
Adrian Bailey, Maurice Hines, and George Faison, honoring Louis Johnson, (2015)
Louis Johnson, Steve Carter, and Edmund Cambridge.
Photo courtesy of Clinton Turner Davis.
George Faison, Andy Torres, and Louis Johnson. Photo courtesy of Andy Torres
Lee Summers, Franz Jones, Leslie Dockery, Bruce Hawkins, Louis Johnson, Jeffery V. Thompson, Maurice Hines Jr, and Natalie Carter-Prince.
Adrian Bailey, Bruce Heath, Martial Roumain, Dyane Harvey-Salaam, Bruce Hawkins, Ted D Williams, Brian Anthony Johnson, and George Faison at Faison Firehouse Theater.
Allison Williams Foster, Fred Benjamin. Ted D Williams, Louis Johnson and Brenda Braxton
Jill Williams, Ramona Candy, Louis Johnson, and Sylvia Levy.
Dyane Harvey, Mabel Robinson, and Louis Johnson
Dr. Glory Van Scott, Denise Du Maine, Nikki Williams, Rhonda McLean-nur, David Robertson, and Melony McGant with Louis Johnson
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Moments with Great Artists, Dancers, Leaders & Scholars at La Boule Blanche in Celebration of Katherine Dunham’s Book KAISO with Dr. Glory Van Scott and Micki Grant and Charles Rangel. Photo by Tyrone Rasheed
Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson, Abdel Salaam, Dyane Harvey-Salaam, and David Robertson at Symphony Space.,
Abdel Salaam and Louis Johnson
Debbie Allen, Louis Johnson, George Faison
Actress and dancer Debbie Allen, Director and choreographer Louis Johnson, and dancer George Faison attend AHF and Debbie Allen Present Keeping the Promise-1,000,000 Lives In Care: Celebrating Icons of Dance at The Apollo Theater on November 30, 2018, in New York City. (Monica Schipper/Getty Images for AHF)
The Dance Theatre of Harlem’s 50th Anniversary opening night celebration. Honoring the Legacy of Arthur Mitchell (2019) – George Faison, Melony McGant, Dr. Glory Van Scott, and Louis Johnson
Talley Beatty, Dr. Glory Van Scott and Louis Johnson at Talley Beatty’s home in NYC before the Katherine Dunham Gala in January 1979 PHOTO BY AYOKA CHENZIRA, FROM DR. GLORY VAN SCOTT’S PRIVATE COLLECTION
“Dancer, producer and director Dr. Glory Van Scott recalled the decades-long friendship with Johnson and their work on her play “Miss Truth” for CBS-TV. In her memoir “Glory: A Life Among Legends,” she recalls the special generation that came out of Broadway’s “House of Flowers.” “Folks have asked me, ‘What kind of water were you guys drinking?’” The truth lies both in their unique talent but also their sense of camaraderie. “You know we were close then and all through the years. We helped each other and all through the years we helped each other, cared and loved each other. You can’t beat that. Look at what all of us accomplished. I was talking to a friend and I said, ‘You know something, in heaven now Louis and Talley, Alvin and Joe Nash are all together, dancing.’ We were the first ones who got a chance to do what we wanted to do and there was no stopping us.” Louis Johnson’s life is testimony to that.”
NEW YORK Amsterdam News
“As an active arts educator and teacher, Louis Johnson has conducted Black arts symposiums at Yale, Howard, Virginia State, Hampton Institute, and Morehouse College. In 1986 he was appointed the director of the Dance Division of the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side. He has retired.”
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| Productions | Dates of Productions |
|---|---|
| Play On! [Original, Musical] | Mar 20, 1997 – May 11, 1997 |
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| Treemonisha [Original, Musical, Opera] | Oct 21, 1975 – Dec 14, 1975 |
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| Purlie [Revival, Musical, Comedy] | Dec 27, 1972 – Jan 7, 1973 |
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| Lost in the Stars [Revival, Musical, Tragedy] | Apr 18, 1972 – May 21, 1972 |
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| Les Blancs [Original, Play] | Nov 15, 1970 – Dec 19, 1970 |
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| Purlie [Original, Musical, Comedy] | Mar 15, 1970 – Nov 6, 1971 |
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| Hallelujah, Baby! [Original, Musical] | Apr 26, 1967 – Jan 13, 1968 |
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| Kwamina [Original, Musical] | Oct 23, 1961 – Nov 18, 1961 |
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| House of Flowers [Original, Musical] | Dec 30, 1954 – May 21, 1955 |
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| My Darlin’ Aida [Original, Musical] | Oct 27, 1952 – Jan 10, 1953 |
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| Four Saints in Three Acts [Revival, Musical, Opera] | Apr 16, 1952 – Apr 27, 1952 |
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Photo Credit: Tom Scott
BY CUSTOM APRIL 8, 2020 BY WALTER RUTLEDGE
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Here’s a classic throwback from the inaugural season at the Negro Ensemble Company (circa 1967-68.) I’m with legendary choreographer Louis Johnson as he creates Stage Movement for our amazing ensemble actors in “Song of the Lusitanian Bogey” our very first play! Louis was with the company for decades providing brilliant choreography and mesmerizing stage movement for our productions.
From the Desk of ROBERT HOOKS
“After knocking out a wall in my 28th Street apartment and building a stage in its living-room for theatre classes at my brand new (and very first) New York theatre company, The Group Theatre Workshop (circa 1964)- I was immediately evicted (no surprise) and had to quickly find a new living space and workshop classes for the fledgling young theatre group. Enter Louis Johnson, a Broadway dancer who I had met through Barbara Ann Teer was kind enough to vouch for me- to rent a spacious loft in his building on 19th Street off 5th Avenue. From that amazingly creative period until yesterday, Louis and I were true friends, collaborators, and theatre colleagues in all three of my successful theatre institutions over the many glorious years we shared in the ’60s, ’70s, and 80’s American Black theatre movement. An accomplished dancer, choreographer, director, and teacher, Louis Johnson was the premier choreographer at the world-famous Negro Ensemble Company and Washington’s DC Black Repertory Company!… RIP, Dear Louis.”
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- “After knocking out a wall in my 28th Street apartment and building a stage in its living-room for theatre classes at my brand new (and very first) New York theatre company, The Group Theatre Workshop (circa 1964)- I was immediately evicted (no surprise) and had to quickly find a new living space and workshop classes for the fledgling young theatre group. Enter Louis Johnson, a Broadway dancer who I had met through Barbara Ann Teer was kind enough to vouch for me- to rent a spacious loft in his building on 19th Street off 5th Avenue. From that amazingly creative period until yesterday, Louis and I were true friends, collaborators, and theatre colleagues in all three of my successful theatre institutions over the many glorious years we shared in the ’60s, ’70s, and 80s American Black theatre movement. An accomplished dancer, choreographer, director, and teacher, Louis Johnson was the premier choreographer at the world-famous Negro Ensemble Company and Washington’s DC Black Repertory Company!… RIP Dear Louis.”
