Marquez Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona School of Dance. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance degree from the University of Arizona as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. In addition, Marquez holds a Secondary Education Teaching Certification from Pima Community College. Marquez continues to teach Jazz and Hip-Hop to both majors and non-majors, while also contributing to a range of academic courses.
Marquez has performed works by Jose Limon and Ohad Naharin while also being a rehearsal assistant for Miguel Perez in his piece “Before Reality Sets In” and Michele Gifford in the re-staging of “The American” by Charles Wheeldon. Marquez has also contributed choreography for the University of Arizona dance ensemble with such pieces as an old-school inspired hip-hop piece “Get Up Offa That Thang”, a contemporary dance on film piece “Onward and Upward”, a jazz piece entitled “Groove” and most recently “A Little more, A Little Less” inspired from the movie soundtrack of Burlesque.
Under the direction of Tammy Dyke-Compton, Christopher Compton, and Abbey O’Brien, Marquez is a returning teaching artist for Perry-Mansfield Summer Performing Arts Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado where he teaches Jazz and Hip-Hop for all summer programs. During his tenure there, he has had the honor of contributing to and providing sole dance choreography for their dance division as well as choreography to such musicals as Frog and Toad, Newsies Jr., The Louder We Get, and most recently Seussical the Musical Kids.
Locally, Marquez was a principal company member of the Tucson-based contemporary dance company Artifact Dance Project for ten years. He has performed in several productions for Artifact including Fairy Tales Three, Poe, Artist's Proof, The Grand Parlor, Judith, Downtown, Frida, and New Moves to name a few. He continues to be a guest artist with Ballet Rincon productions such as Coppelia, Cinderella, and annual Nutcracker presentations. As well, Marquez is a guest artist with Funhouse Movement Theatre in their Butoh-centered productions as well as numerous independent choreographers. He continues to teach and choreograph at various studios and companies in styles ranging from Jazz to Hip-Hop and Contemporary.
