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Actress, dancer, choreographer, and first-time documentary film director, Ariyan Johnson shares her personal journey about the struggles and triumphs of her two conflicting loves: hip hop and the church in this first installment of her docuseries “Spiritual Cyphers: Hip Hop and the Church,” which will have its Los Angeles debut celebrating this year’s 50th Anniversary […]

BKLYN Premiere of Spiritual Cyphers: Hip Hop and the Church at the Historic Billie Holiday Theatre in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn. Cast and Crew from Left to right: Leslie Saltus-Evans, Dr. Kathleen Turner, Cetra Dance, Ariyan Johnson, Joy Rushiel, Suncerae Clark Fredericks, and Rev. Shaun Lee The Talk photo:

Special Issue BREAKING AND THE OLYMPICS Article: The Overlooked Contributions of African American Women Hip Hop Dancers to Breaking and Hip Hop Culture by Ariyan Johnson

Raven Wilkinson was an American dancer who is credited with having been the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. Wilkinson broke the color barrier in 1955 when she signed a contract to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Born on Feb 2, 1935, she passed away on

At 4:00 pm on March 19, 2023, the Ebell Club Los Angeles will host a celebration of the life and legacy of world-renowned ballerina Raven Wilkinson. The memorial event will be presented by Robyn Gardenhire, former ballerina and Founder and Artistic Director of City Ballet of Los Angeles, and Ariyan Johnson, UCI Dance Historian and

Raven Wilkinson (1935-2018) broke as rigid a color barrier as could be found in the mid-fifties, when she was hired, in 1955, to join the all-white corps de ballet of Sergei Denham’s Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She went on to dance with the Dutch National Ballet as a soloist, and (similar to Janet Collins,

Ariyan Johnson was invited as a Dance Historian to research, speak, and coordinate the March 19, 2023, event at the Ebell Club of Los Angeles called Celebrating the Life of Raven Wilkinson.  Robyn Gardenhire the founder and artistic director of City Ballet of Los Angeles invited me to speak about the legacy of Ms. Raven Wilkinson, the first

Wave Production March 16, 2023 By Shirley Hawkins, Contributing Writer LOS ANGELES — The life and legacy of Raven Wilkinson — the first African-American woman to dance for a major classical dance company — will be celebrated from 4 to 7 p.m. March 19 at the Ebell Theatre with a tribute performance. The performance will include

LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS By Allyson Vergara | avergara@scng.com PUBLISHED: March 16, 2023 A Sunday, March 19 performance by dance students at The Ebell Club Los Angeles will celebrate and pay tribute to a pioneer in the ballet world. Raven Wilkinson was the first African American woman to dance full-time for a major classical ballet