djassi daCosta johnson
performer filmmaker choreographer photographer writer
.sleepless. | nessun dorma. 2019
Dance Film. Short commissioned by The Harlem Literary Society inspired by Octavia E Butler and a retrospect of her work by Lynette George, “A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World Of Octavia Butler”. July 2021
In this video presentation, the lyrics to “Civil War,” a song performed by the folk singer Joan Baez, are expressed through the act of a waltz. Directed and conceived by NYU professor Deborah Willis and choreographed by dancer Djassi Dacosta Johnson, the film presents a performance by Johnson and Kevin Boseman, dressed in 19th-century costume. Their bodies move in lyrical precision as historical and contemporary photographs are projected behind them. Antique portraits of the Civil War’s black soldiers and domestic workers overlay the dancers’ play on tension and resolution, bringing the collective memory of conflict to the forefront of modern consciousness.
Vision Festival 22 | Warrior Of Light
May 24, 2017
Judson Church, NYC
Clemente Art Studios, LES, NYC
Arts for Art EVOLVING SERIES
April 15, 2016
Warrior of the Light is an evolving, ongoing collaboration between, dancer choreographer Djassi DaCosta Johnson and upright bassist, Shayna Dulberger. The base of their creative impulse for the work is rooted in inspiration from the manual Warrior of the Light, by Paolo Coehlo which speaks to personal strength and poise when faced with constant war and struggle. We live in a time where we are constantly reminded of war, struggle, inequality, and the rapid decline of mother earth.
Choreographer & Dancer for Gloria Gaynor’s first single on Testimony, her gospel album release June 2019
Fashion film incorporating Capoeira and dance.
Director: Kaliya Warren
Designer: Anna Lathleen
Cheoreography: djassi daCosta johnson
Performed by: djassi daCosta johnson, Shem Rajoon
djassi daCosta johnson
dancer.
choreographer.
filmmaker.
creative director.
writer.
Djassi DaCosta Johnson and Shayna Dulberger
NYU Tisch Dance May 12, 2018
Dedicated to the two black men LYNCHED in OKLAHOMA on April 18, 2018.
Ramon Smith
Jarron Moreland
Say. Their. Names.
Gaia & Luna
A Sketch of a Mermaid Dream Journey
At the start of the pandemic, in 2020, my then nine-year old daughter began coming to my bed in the middle of the night — something she hadn’t done in years — and I returned to a practice of recording her dreams upon waking.This was a dream she had October 20, 2020 while still living in Brooklyn — before I took her — for her first time ever— to spend half the year living in St. Croix.
"Gaia & Luna: A Mermaid Dream Journey" Is proud to have been selected for the Cinema Verde Environmental Film Festival, winning the "Most Uplifting" award in 2023.
photo credit: Amilcar La Paz
Sketch for Dance Film Commission by The Literary Society of Harlem for discussion around Lynette George's book "A Handful of Earth, a Handful of Sky: the world of Octavia E. Butler". Original Music: Bob Stewart | Performance, Direction, Editing: djassi daCosta johnson Cinematography: Mirahl Vera Luna Johnson, 10 years old, July 2021
Final Film for NYU Tisch collaboartive class between Film & Television Graduate Directors & Dance Graduate Choreographers.
Directed by: Sarra Alshehhi
Choreography: Djassi DaCosta Johnson
Cinematography: Krisitn Kouke
Synopsis: a woman, whose body craves rest but whose mind is plagued with the troubles of the world, journeys to a place of peace through movement and space...
A film by: djassi daCosta johnson
Co-Direction / Cinematography: Jorg Meyer
Original Music: Lawrence Jordan
SCREENINGS/ FESTIVALS:
"Moving Body/ Moving Image" Film Festival @ Barnard College, Columbia U, April 2018
NYU Thesis Show TRAILER edited by Djassi DaCosta Johnson, 2018
COLLABORATIONS.
"LIGHT BODY" Optical Performance by LIA CHAVEZ (2015)
A commission by Isabella Rossellini
The Farm of Isabella Rossellini, Brookhaven Hamlet, New York
Conceived and performed by Lia Chavez
Additional performers include Djassi DaCosta Johnson and Troy Ogilvie
Costuming by Mary Katrantzou, styled by Richard Ives
Photo credit: Ira Lippke
"EDYMION", Eddie Peake, Performa13 (2013)
Jefferey Deitch Gallery, NYC
Articulating the complex strains of intimacy that develop between people, Eddie Peake has developed a gallery-based performance in which the relationships between an ensemble are made palpable through a series of choreographed gestures and interactions.
BRENDAN FERNANDEZ. "IN TOUCH", BROOKLYN MUSEUM 2016
"An exploration of how African Art and specifically artifacts and masks are viewed -- in a museum -- out of context of their original purpose... Fernandez challenges audiences to have an odd encounter with someone who is designed to instigate a sense of uneasiness and curiosity about how another person is reacting to masks on view."
VISION FEST / ARTS FOR ART: COOPER MOORE. SHAYNA DULBERGER. JUDSON CHURCH. (2012. 2015, 2017)
Warrior of the Light is an evolving, ongoing collaboration between, dancer choreographer Djassi DaCosta Johnson and upright bassist, Shayna Dulberger. The base of their creative impulse for the work is rooted in inspiration from the manual Warrior of the Light, by Paolo Coehlo which speaks to the personal strength and poise necessary to find compassion in the fight — to be e a bearer of much needed light in a world rampant with darkness. in a time where we are constantly reminded of war, struggle, inequality, and the rapid decline of mother earth, Dulberger and Johnson seek to enlighten, inspire and uplift in their 20-30 minute “sets” perfromed at Jazz festivals and art galleries.
Site-Specific Activation:
“Fungal Feelings : A Ritual for the Concrete Jungle” , Arts for Art | Vision Fest, performance set with Bassist Shayna Dulberger, First Park, LES, NYC, October 2023 (excerpt)
Vision Festival 22 | Warrior Of Light
May 24, 2017
Judson Church, NYC
Warrior of the Light is an evolving, ongoing collaboration between, dancer choreographer Djassi DaCosta Johnson and upright bassist, Shayna Dulberger. The base of their creative impulse for the work is rooted in inspiration from the manual Warrior of the Light, by Paolo Coehlo which speaks to personal strength and poise when faced with constant war and struggle. We live in a time where we are constantly reminded of war, struggle, inequality, and the rapid decline of mother earth.
Djassi DaCosta Johnson plays a nurse in Well Fargo commercial 2019, Greenpoint Pictures.
Djassi DaCosta Johnson plays a nurse in Wells Fargo commercial, Greenpoint Pictures 2019.
Commercial Teaser
LDC Artists Management, NYC
Ken Park Casting, NYC
Director, Stefon Bristol
Rome, Italy, 2009, CINECITTA
Role: Susan
.sleepless. | nessun dorma. 2019