Geneviève Johnson has worked since 1995 as an actress, dancer and choreographer in Montreal with Larry Tremblay, Martine Beaulne, Estelle Clareton, Eric Jean, Pigeons International, Brigitte Poupart, Michel Monty and, in Nanaimo, with Holly Bright, Nicole Mion, Jennifer McLeish-Lewis, Robert Seatton, amongst others. In 1999, after 4 years practicing Butoh in Canada, she received a development grant from Quebec Arts Council in order to study Butoh in Japan with founder of the genre Kazuo Ohno as well as Yoshito Ohno, Min Tanaka, Akiko Motofuji, and the Dairakudakan. These encounters deeply impacted her practice.
Geneviève completed an interdisciplinary PhD in 2008 from University of Quebec in Montreal, investigating embodied interweaving principles in her practice of Butoh dance, theatre and poetry to establish new ways to create, perform and train. She is presently taking a Somatic Dance Teacher Training with Donna Redlick, exploring healing pathways through movement and dance practice and creation. This training is based on the Laban Bartenieff system.
Since 2006, she has collaborated closely with dancer/choreographer Holly Bright on numerous performances, using her creative language of poetry in motion – Landscape Under Skin Theatre. Some of these collaborations include: The Sun and The Moon (2018) (Port Theatre, Nanaimo and Firehall Theatre, Vancouver), Umbrellas (2016), What the Water Whispers (2013), A Baroque Fear (2009) (Port Theatre, Nanaimo). Their latest site-specific work, Lifeline, has taken place on Overdose Awareness Day 2020, downtown Nanaimo. It was created as a way to empathise and explore healing avenues around drug use. Stemming from her experience with Lifeline, and supported by Holly Bright and Crimson Coast Dance Society, Geneviève has developed dance workshops around community connection and social issues. How do we connect as a community? How do we create embodied compassion, develop empathy and find ways to process trauma through movement creation?
Since September 2020, Geneviève is enrolled in Digital Media Studies at Vancouver Island University. Through this program, she investigates deeper the connection between the body, its vulnerability and the environment with the support of the camera lens.
A certified Pilates instructor since 2003, Geneviève teaches classes on Mat, Reformer, Wunda Chair, Trapeze Tower and Core Align in Nanaimo at Fine Balance Pilates and Physiotherapy. You can find some of her Mat Pilates classes on Vimeo at Pilates Classes