Johanna Kepler is a choreographer and creative director with a passion for storytelling through movement. Her work as a choreographer, designer and visual artist is centered around community building and empowering artists in all stages of their career. 

 

During her time at Michigan Johanna founded a student organization called Arts in Color. She also served as a Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador for SMTD and for the Student Board of the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion. In 2017 Johanna’s choreography was selected to perform in the annual Collage concert at Hill Auditorium. That work was featured in the Michigan Muse alumni magazine as it spoke to issues students of color were facing on campus at that time. In 2018 she was awarded the MLK Jr Spirit Award for her work in performing arts and activism. She was also the recipient of the UMS 21st Century Artist Internship. In 2019 her work was selected to represent Michigan at the American College Dance festival in Ohio. That year she also choreographed the Musket Production of Cabaret. In 2020 Johanna was one of the first student’s to choreograph for the annual Dance Department show LatinXpressions. Johanna was also a student speaker for the SMTD class of 2020. 

 

In March of 2020 Johanna founded an oral history project called Power of the Performing Arts. Johanna interviewed over 300 professional performing artists worldwide and across disciplines about the effects of the pandemic on the performing arts. In 2024 Johanna is launching a podcast sequel to this project called Creativity Cost, exploring the cost of being a creative post-pandemic. 

 

As a Dancer and Choreographer Johanna has worked in New York City and Boston MA. In 2021 Johanna joined American Ballet Theatre as an administrative staff member. In 2022 Johanna choreographed a work for Bosoma Dance Company presented at the Boston Center for the Arts. Johanna also teaches and sets competition works for the Senior Intensive program at Mass Motion Dance in Boston. 

 

As a Designer and Creative Director Johanna co- founded Digital Drip Fashion House where she saw a unique opportunity with the emergence of Web3 to help empower artists through this new digital landscape. Digital Drip is a physical and digital fashion house committed to sustainability and helping artists reach new audiences. Digital Drip held the first Digital Fashion event during Art Basel Miami in 2022 in partnership with Artisant and Spatial.io that was featured in NasDaq. 

 

Johanna plans to attend an MFA in Dance program in the fall of 2024. Johanna plans to continue informing her work as a choreographer as well as develop her fashion company and hone her skills as a creative director and visual artist.