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Weaving movement, memory, and cultural identity into performance, visual art, and community.

I am an interdisciplinary choreographer, educator, and creative director whose work explores identity, belonging, and cultural memory through movement, visual art, and storytelling. Drawing from my experiences as a Guatemalan American adoptee and Maya descendant, I create performances, installations, and community experiences that invite people to reconnect with themselves, their histories, and one another.

About

Research & Methodology

My creative practice is rooted in weaving as an interdisciplinary methodology—a process that combines movement, drawing, writing, meditation, oral history, and cultural research to investigate memory, identity, and belonging. Developed through my ethnographic research with Maya textile weavers in Guatemala and informed by my experiences as a Guatemalan American adoptee and Maya descendant, this methodology views weaving as both a material practice and a way of understanding how we carry stories within our bodies and across generations. Through this approach, I create performances, visual art, and community experiences that invite individuals and communities to reconnect with their histories, imagine new possibilities for belonging, and explore the threads that connect us to one another.

Teaching & Community Workshops

I believe that creativity is a powerful tool for connection, self-discovery, and community building. My teaching practice invites participants to explore their stories through movement, visual art, writing, and collective dialogue, creating spaces where people of all ages and backgrounds can engage with identity, memory, and belonging.

Drawing from my interdisciplinary Weaving Methodology, I facilitate workshops that encourage participants to connect with their lived experiences, cultural histories, and creative voices. Each workshop is designed to be collaborative, accessible, and rooted in the belief that everyone has stories worth sharing.

What I Offer

I collaborate with universities, arts organizations, museums, schools, and communities to create meaningful experiences that connect people through movement, storytelling, and creative practice. My work bridges art-making, education, research, and community engagement, offering opportunities for individuals and organizations to explore identity, culture, and belonging in new ways.

My experience spans the performing arts, higher education, and community engagement sectors, having worked with organizations including American Ballet Theatre, Duke Arts, American Dance Festival, University of Michigan, University of South Carolina, Empower Dance Studio, Common Hope, and the 13 B'atz' Weaving Cooperative in Guatemala.

Choreography & Performance

Original dance works, interdisciplinary performances, and movement-based collaborations for dance companies, universities, and cultural institutions.

Teaching & Workshops

Creative workshops and classes for youth, adults, universities, and community organizations centered on movement, storytelling, and interdisciplinary art-making.

Artist Residencies

Residencies that combine artistic creation, community engagement, teaching, and research, tailored to the needs of each institution or community.

Speaking & Guest Lectures

Talks and conversations on creativity, identity, cultural memory, adoption, interdisciplinary practice, and building community through the arts.

Community Engagement Projects

Collaborative storytelling initiatives, oral history projects, and participatory art experiences that bring communities together through shared narratives.

Exhibitions & Installations

Visual art installations and exhibitions that weave together movement, archives, textiles, oral histories, and personal narratives.

Creative Consulting

Consulting for artists and organizations on interdisciplinary project development, community engagement, storytelling, digital strategy, and arts marketing.

 

Available for collaborations with universities, museums, dance companies, schools, nonprofits, and cultural institutions around the world.

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@johannabeth97

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© Johanna Kepler 2020

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