Home | Johanna Kepler

IMG_1606_edited

026ba97c-b84b-4f2b-8eac-5b973d1e20f9

IMG_1606_edited

1/7

Johanna Kepler is a choreographer and MFA candidate (Class of 2026) in Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis at Duke University, and holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. Her work explores movement as a form of embodied knowledge, examining how cultural memory, identity, and lived experience are transmitted through the body.

She developed weaving, an interdisciplinary methodology integrating movement, drawing, writing, and ethnographic research. Informed by work in Guatemala and collaborations with Maya weaving communities, her practice spans performance, immersive installation, and living archives.

Learn More

About

Research & Methodology

Johanna Kepler’s research explores choreography as a form of embodied knowledge, examining how movement transmits cultural memory, identity, and lived experience. Her work positions the body as a living archive of personal and ancestral histories.

She developed weaving, an interdisciplinary methodology integrating movement, drawing, writing, and ethnographic research to explore identity across geographies and generations. Informed by research in Guatemala and collaborations with Maya weaving communities, her practice spans performance, installation, and living archives.

Teaching & Community Workshops

Johanna Kepler has worked in Guatemala in partnership with community-based nonprofits, including Common Hope in Antigua Guatemala, where she teaches dance and art classes to local children. Her work centers on creative expression, cultural connection, and embodied learning, creating spaces where youth can explore identity, storytelling, and community through movement and art.

In the United States, she leads weaving workshops and interdisciplinary classes with organizations such as American Dance Festival, Duke Arts, University of Michigan, and Duke University. She has also taught ballet, jazz, modern, and contemporary at local studios in Durham, Boston, and New York City, supporting students across a range of ages and training backgrounds.