Artist Bio

(Bio as of June 2008)

Lisa Johnson-Willingham most recently collaborated with the Goodman on Ain’t Misbehavin’ during the 2007/2008 Season. Ms. Johnson-Willingham has performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, New World Dance Company, Donald Byrd/The Group, Complexions—A Concept in Dance, Joel Hall Dance Company, Deeply Rooted Productions, Cerqua/Rivera Art Experience and Nucleus Dance Collective. She has worked as the dance director of Whitney Young Dance Department and the Director of AileyCamp Chicago. Ms. Johnson-Willingham’s credits include work with several dance companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Joel Hall Dance Company, Cerqua/Rivera Art Experience, Hubbard Street II, Melissa Thodos and Dancers and New Dance Theater. She choreographed Congo Square Theatre Company’s Layla’s Dream, Black Nativity and Elmina’s Kitchen. Additional credits include Voyeurs de Venus and 10 Virgins at Chicago Dramatists; Kid Zero with DBA Studios; Milk at MPAACT; and Harriet Jacobs at Steppenwolf for Young Adults. Ms. Johnson-Willingham recently received a Black Theater Alliance Award and a Jeff Award nomination for her choreography in Trouble the Water. In 2001, she founded The Willingham Project, a multi-cultural dance company providing dance and educational programs for underserved communities. Ms. Johnson-Willingham is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and received a BFA from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She is currently on faculty at Columbia College.