“your audiences are in for an engaging, high-energy treat!”
Jane Raleigh,
Former Co-Director of Dance Programming,
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The Pulse is a high-energy interactive performance experience that transforms audiences from passive spectators into active participants in a collective celebration of rhythm, movement, and community. Rooted in African Diasporic dance traditions, the work guides audiences through a dynamic polyrhythmic journey blending Tap Dance, Body Percussion, Sand Dance, and direct audience engagement.
Through layered rhythms, call and response, and spontaneous interaction, performers and audiences build a shared experience where the boundary between observer and participant disappears. By translating global rhythmic traditions through the human body, The Pulse creates a living score where music and movement become inseparable, fostering joy, connection, and collective energy.
Dance Magazine describes Ryan K. Johnson as “one of the foremost percussive dance artists in the U.S.” MoBBallet describes Quynn L. Johnson’s sand dancing as “an example of the eloquence of motion.” Together with the company, The Pulse expands the vocabulary of percussive dance through rhythm, texture, and embodied visual sound. Run Time: 60 mins | no intermission.
THE PULSE
Dancer(s): Six -Eight
Crew: One
Arts Education and Community programming packages can be added to The Pulse.
Tap, Body Percussion workshops, and residencies can be added to The Pulse.
ZAZ is an immersive sensory performance that shifts traditional viewing practices beyond just sight and sound. The performers embody the oral histories and recorded experiences of survivors of Hurricane Katrina. They perform in tap shoes, hard-soled shoes, gumboots, and barefoot, creating a rhythmic score that supports the narration woven into the performance. These stories are conveyed through speaking, singing, rapping, and projections, creating a unique experience that transports the audience to New Orleans and breaks down the boundaries of the fourth wall.
Conceived by Ryan K. Johnson, an acclaimed 2024 Guggenheim Choreography Fellow and recipient of the prestigious 2024 New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project production grant, this choreography-led performance intricately weaves soundscapes and cutting-edge media technology with vibrant percussive dance. Zaz includes Associate Director Jodeci Milhouse with choreographic contributions from all performers, guest choreography by Quynn Johnson and Michelle Gibson and musical arrangements by Tamar Greene of Hamilton, Broadway company and Henley Connor III. Run Time: 75 mins | no intermission.
ZAZ
A powerful performative archive of stories honoring the resilience of Hurricane Katrina survivors, embodying their experiences through dance, music, and technology.
Performers: Eight
Traveling Crew: Two - Three
Arts Education and Community programming can be added to Zaz.
Tap, Body Percussion, West African, and Contemporary movement workshops, and residencies can be added to ZAZ bookings.
"The world that Ryan Johnson and SOLE Defined have created with ZAZ is equal parts welcoming, electric, and inspiring. I would happily live inside this beautiful show."
-Elena Perantoni, Senior Producer, Wexner Center for Performing Arts