Vienna Johnson

Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Vienna Johnson (She/Her) is a proud Queer-Métis artist, performer, musician, and choreographer, now based in Tkaronto (Toronto, Ontario).  

Since the age of four, Johnson has had the impulse to perform, create, and share her art with the world. She explored the competitive dance scene for twelve years, receiving high recognition for her triple threat nature. As well as performing in various school theatre productions where she portrayed roles like, “Daddy Warbucks” in Annie, and “The Wicked Witch of the West” in The Wizard of Oz. During this time, she further had the privilege of performing with Royal Caribbean’s, “Stars at Sea” program, as the lead dancer and vocalist.   

In 2024, she received her BFA (with distinction) in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson), after completing their highly respected, 4 year program. Johnson’s high level of versatility was accompanied by her professional training in contemporary, ballet, musical theatre, jazz, street styles/hip-hop, modern (Cuban), and West African. During her time at TMU, she has trained under an array of renowned artists including Vicki St Denys, Louis Laberge-Côté, Tanya Evidente, Raoul Wilke, Robert Glumbek, Anisa Tejpar, Arsenio Andrade, Kate Hilliard, Allen Kaeja, Lua Shayenne, Miha Matevzic, and Ryan Lee. TMU also afforded her the continuum of her acting training through a mandatory program led by Marianne McIssac, where she blended her natural abilities with more technical and professional refinement. 

As an emerging choreographer/creator, Johnson has had the pleasure of working with choreographers Guillaume Côté, David Norsworthy, Roberto Campanella, and Valerie Calam. However, in addition to her work as a dancer/interpreter, she has also produced her own work titled, “Us and Them” with Citadel’s “(in)Momentum”. “An extraordinarily immersive piece exploring the human condition of having to conform to a higher power”.   

Johnson’s movement style is fueled by her love for intuitive movement in the form of improvisation and gestural storytelling, which is also displayed through her passion for music and poetry. In the past year, she has been working as a freelance artist in Tkaronto by participating in shows including ProArteDanza’s SIP Program, where she received an SIP scholarship, as well as “Dance in a Day” led by Near & Far Projects. When she isn’t dancing, she is performing with her indie-folk band, “Canopy”, and singing with Hamilton-based band, “The Commune”. Known for her diverse vocal range and rapid vibrato, with vocal comparisons to Judy Collins and Joan Baez. Johnson feeds her intense love for folk music by singing, songwriting, and fiddling with her guitar named, “Joni” in her spare time.