We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rush Johnston. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rush below.
Rush, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
Risk taking has become an essential element of my creative process and the way I navigate the world, but it hasn’t always been this way. From age 3 I studied ballet, working inside a very precise skill set to grow and excel, but I never quite fit the mold. I struggled to keep up with my peers and earn the praise of my instructors. It wasn’t until I was a junior in high school when I tried my hand at choreography for the first time that I felt unbridled creativity flowing through me along with a desire to choreograph more. I pushed myself outside of the walls ballet had created for me into the realm of modern, contemporary, and dance theatre with the mission to always do something I’d never done before in each piece. This goal has stayed with me and blossomed throughout my 7 year choreographic career, leading me to take a variety of risks from speaking on stage in works like “Keeping Watch” to smashing oranges in my piece “Still Life?” to virtually destroying a performance space with milk, eggs, and paint in my installation work “Making a Mess.” I take risks by breaking boundaries and using subject matter that may be viewed as taboo such as queerness, menta health, and Indigeneity, shattering stigmas that are placed on the marginalized communities I’m a part of. I have a fierce desire to push my work forward with risks, after all I believe it’s how we grow.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a Bronx-based multimedia choreographer, performer, filmmaker, and movement researcher. I create at the intersection of visual and performing art, often exploring modes of artistic expression beyond the binary. As a queer, Native, neurodiverse artist, my work often plays with perception and identity, inviting viewers to question proposed truths of self and social misconceptions. Social justice work is a key element of my creative vision, often encompassing themes of political turmoil, queerness, and mental health.
Additionally, I am a creator and collaborator. My choreographic work has found a home within a multitude of concert and commercial dance settings, often reaching beyond the stage into photography and dance film. My movement memoir “Keeping Watch,” a queer coming of age story, is currently touring to Philadelphia as part of Cannonball Festival and Philly Fringe. The show runs from September 15-17 and tickets are available at this link: https://phillyfringe.org/events/keeping-watch/
Additionally, I am the founder and artistic director of Kaleid Dance Collective, an interdisciplinary artistic platform for creative experiments and exhibitions. While Kaleid is modeled after a traditional dance company format, it also extends into visual and performing arts as a community-based platform. Kaleid has been selected for the Spark Theatre Festival in NYC and will be premiering a new work entitled “Where the Violets Bloom” on November 18th.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Drive – My eyes are on the prize. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a career in dance is what I want, and I am pushing to make that dream a reality. Sometimes I feel like I’m up to my eyeballs in applications, classes, and rehearsals, but the creative process and the performances make it so worth it. There will be obstacles in the way, some you can control, others you can’t. But with your eye on your goal, it becomes a bit more manageable and then before you know it you’re halfway there. Trust that your persistence and momentum will guide you!
2. Rolling with the punches – Rejection happens a lot in this line of work. You might pour your heart out in a proposal, only to hear a “no, thanks,” or even worse – radio silence. You have to be able to roll with it and accept that you just weren’t the right fit this time around. One rejection doesn’t mean you’re wrong for everyone though! So keep your head high, ask for feedback when available, and keep putting yourself out there. It will all pay off!
3. Ability to dream (and then do!) – One of my biggest strengths is that I have the ability to dream big, allowing my creativity to run wild, uninhibited by doubt. Almost anyone can dream big, but it often ends here. Instead, I dream and then do. I put in the leg work to making these dreams come to reality whether its applying for funding, gathering people to dance with, or really whatever it takes to pull off my vision. So I encourage you, dream and then DO!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m always looking for folks to collaborate with! I love to collaborate with other movers (currently based in NYC), and am currently seeking queer identified dancers for my upcoming work “Where the Violets Bloom.” I’m also always looking for musicians to collaborate with either with scored music or free improvisation. If you’re interested in collaborating please reach out to me via DM on my Instagram @Rushj_dance I can’t wait to work with you!
Contact Info:
- Website:www.rushjohnston.com
- Instagram: @Rushj_dance
Image Credits
eAndrew Murray Steven Pisano Ziru Wang
