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Royal Expressions Contemporary Ballet was founded by Princess Johnson in April 2009 where she currently serves as Executive Director. Mrs. Johnson completed study at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and graduated with honors with a B. A. in Dance Studies and a B. S. in Business. The company has three major components: the professional dance production company, the school, and outreach dance programs for the community.
Royal Expressions has produced five original dance productions: Journey to Become (2010), BLOOM (2011), The Christmas Shoes (2012), Never Lose Your MOMENTUM (2013), and 31 (2015).
In April 2014, Royal Expressions had the esteemed privilege to host renowned ballerina Misty Copeland as a special guest at their 5 year anniversary celebration. She came and had breakfast with dance professionals across NC, taught classes, spoke to the dancers, and did a book signing.
Company History
The company continues the tradition of bringing major dance artists to Greensboro. In July 2015, Royal Expressions hosted Alicia Graf Mack, a former lead dancer of the world-famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. She joined other emerging choreographers Princess Johnson, Regina Tate (Greensboro, NC), Willie Hinton (Raleigh, NC), April Schweitzer (Cary, NC), and Tabia McKenzie (Nashville, TN) in a 2 - 3 day on-site residency at the Royal Expressions studios between July 30 - August 26 to set new works for, 31 - a choreography collective, community workshop of over 25 women, and professional dance production to uplift, inspire, and empower women.
Royal Expressions School of Dance prides itself in a diverse student population and teaches students ages 10 months to adult ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop, and tap. In 2014, the school began offering scholarships to families facing financial hardship. The fund continues to grow and 20% of the student population benefit from the scholarship fund.
In addition to creating new dance works and dance training at the studio, the Royal Expressions Outreach Programs and Education Network (RE-OPEN) goes into the community to offer dance lessons and performances to senior citizens, individuals with special needs, and at-risk youth. The company has served Golden Living Center, Spring Arbor, McIver Education Center, McGirt Horton Library, Washington Montessori, East White Oak Community Center, and Bessemer Elementary.