Keep Moving and Enjoy the Ride
A CUNY SPS Applied Theatre Alum Looks Back on Her Multi-Hyphenate Career in the Arts
This spring, the CUNY SPS MA in Applied Theatre (MAAT) program hosted its 9th Annual Racial Justice Conference with a screening of the 2023 documentary “Spiritual Cyphers: Hip Hop + The Church,” directed by alum Ariyan Johnson. Through the lens of Johnson’s own experiences, the autobiographical film chronicles the role of African American women dancers in Hip Hop’s history, the battles they fought for acceptance, and the way that Hip Hop culture intersects with spirituality.
In this Q&A, we sit down with Johnson to discuss the film, her award-winning multi-disciplinary career, and her experiences within the MAAT program.
Can you please tell us about your documentary film and what inspired it?
Ariyan Johnson: I was inspired by Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary in 2023 and wanted to tell my story because not much has been explored concerning how Hip Hop culture intersects with spirituality. Today Hip Hop has become a global phenomenon and [while] African American women were a part of that history, in the beginning there was resistance. Culture clashes against spirituality led religion to weaponize one generation in Jazz to the next generation in Hip Hop. Spiritual Cyphers: Hip Hop + the Church highlights the battle in American history of the Black Church and Hip Hop’s penetration into society, as seen through my own personal journey.
How did your work from the MAAT program influence the film?
Johnson: My work from the MAAT program influenced the film by fortifying my skills to intertwine social justice issues within creative works that engage critical thinking and awaken a reflective call to action while maintaining the importance of being entertaining. The documentary’s premise is that one person’s journey intersects with others, which is what the CUNY SPS Applied Theatre program is best at doing — taking up a cause of invisibility and highlighting the issues surrounding inequality to show how we are all connected through culture, community, or spirituality.
What inspired you to pursue your Master’s in Applied Theatre at CUNY SPS?
Johnson: The thing that inspired me the most about the CUNY SPS MAAT program was the Project Rwanda: Drama and Theatre Education for Reconciliation and Development Residency at the Kigali Institute of Education in Rwanda, Africa. Using the arts in various ways to educate, to inform, to address social justice concerns, to build community, and exchange culturally was a major factor in my choice to pursue my Master’s in Applied Theatre. It was exactly what I dreamed of…
Since I was a young dancer at Ronn Pratt’s Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, we would go out into the community in Eleo Pomare’s Dancemobile and be involved up close and personal with the communities we would travel to teach and perform dance for. I was also introduced to teaching community classes at the company so as I grew as a dancer, so did my teaching. When I joined the company of Abdel Salaam’s Forces of Nature as a young person, I saw my dance mentor Dyane Harvey-Salaam teaching at a College and decided when I “grew up” I would too. I was inspired to get my Master’s so that I could ultimately continue working with communities by teaching at a University, which I am grateful to have accomplished.
You’ve had a long career in entertainment and dance before coming to CUNY SPS; please tell us a bit about this.
Johnson: I founded my company Degrees In Movement Arranged By Ariyan (D.I.M.A.B.A.) in 1991. D.I.M.A.B.A. was created to educate, spiritually uplift, and build community by using a multi-artistic lens through an African American storytelling experience.
I am a graduate of the “Fame” La Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where I studied dance, as well as a merit scholarship recipient of the 92nd Street Y Harkness Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre School, Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, and Chautauqua School of Dance. I hold a BA from Lehman College in Speech Pathology and Audiology and an MA in Applied Theatre from CUNY SPS.
I am a multi-disciplinary artist, a pioneer of Hip Hop dance, an award-winning filmmaker, an Independent Spirit Award best female lead- nominated actress for the first female Hip Hop coming of age story that won the Sundance Special Jury Prize — Just Another Girl on the I.R.T., where I depict Hip Hop female dance duos.
Some other television and film credits include Law and Order; J.A.G.; The General’s Daughter with John Travolta; Bulworth with Warren Beatty and Halle Berry, where I depicted a rapper bringing Hip Hop culture onto the political landscape; and a series regular on The Steve Harvey Show.
As a professional dancer, I have either danced, choreographed, and toured worldwide for an array of artists such as L.L. Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan, Ms. Melodie, Ya Kid K (Technotronics), 2 in a Room, Mary J Blige, SWV, Mariah Carey, Keith Sweat, Crystal Waters, and many more. I’m also a former member of Abdel Salaam’s Forces of Nature Dance Theatre and Ronn Pratt’s Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance companies, where I began my site-specific work exploring jazz-based dances of protest with Eleo Pomare’s Dancemobile.
My community work continued throughout my tenure as Artistic Director/ Resident Choreographer of Faithful Dance Company, having worked with deaf participants, organized social justice initiatives, and created interactive performances at Faithful Central Bible Church’s first-of-its-kind, Black-owned family-friendly entertainment 18,000-seated FORUM arena.
Where do you see your career 10 years from now?
Johnson: In ten years, I would like to be a tenured professor, continuing my multidisciplinary artistry with creative surprises of forward motion, as well as being whole, happy, in peace, in good health, having a balanced life, filled with spiritual growth, travel, rest, an abundance of love, laughter, and some work that is divinely given.
How has the MAAT program impacted your career post-graduation?
Johnson: The MAAT program impacted me profoundly. My thesis advisor, Daniel Banks, was such a blessing for his innovative approaches to help me become a better writer that led to publishing my work.
For example, post-graduation I transformed my thesis into a grant that allowed me to become a three-time recipient of the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Artist-in-Residence. I continued writing and was awarded the 2022–2023 CUNY Dance Initiative Dance Resident at Queensborough College; the 2022–2023 Hellman Fellows; and the 21st Century Creativity Research Grant for 2020–2021. I have also published articles in the book Dance in US Popular Culture, the periodical Black Dance Magazine, the online Hip Hop Dance Almanac, the journal Global Hip Hop Studies Journal, and a forthcoming chapter in the Intellect Handbook of Dance Education Research.
Another way MAAT impacted me was through my ongoing relationship with faculty member Professor Amy Green, who has been beyond gracious with her ability to ask me the right questions that probe me to dig a little deeper into my work. I continue to create dances and theatrical works through my company D.I.M.A.B.A., which has become a community partner with the Los Angeles Unified School District. D.I.M.A.B.A. has evolved into an intergenerational-focused company with an applied theatre approach to movement and activism centered around spirituality in various forms of self-discovery, social justice, and (self) reflection with the objective of relationship building within community.
What advice would you give to a young performer?
Johnson: My one piece of advice is to “not get stuck”. Keep moving forward and allow your ego to do so too. If I was stuck on being a dancer, I would never have become a choreographer, which would not have led to becoming an actor, and so on. I let myself fall forward into new adventures. I didn’t let people’s ideas of me put me in a box; I maintained my freedom by staying humble and evolving and for that I must give God all the credit in guiding me along the way. When I look back on my multidisciplinary career, the industry in the beginning only wanted me to be and do one thing but I just wanted to be authentically me. I am grateful because these many years later I have no regrets and still have more to do and accomplish. Ultimately, trust God, train in your crafts, acquire a strong educational base, and let go and enjoy the ride.
Anything else that you would like to share?
Johnson: For anyone wanting to know about the latest happenings with me, check me out at my website or follow me on Instagram @ariyanjohnson.
