The Raymond Johnson Dance Company was formed in 1974 by the Black dancer and choreographer, Raymond Johnson. The collection contains contact sheets, negatives, and prints of the company's performances.
Raymond Johnson was born in Harlem, New York City, and trained in dance at the Henry Street Playhouse. He went on to teach at the Henry Street Settlement before joining the Nikolais Dance Company and Murray Louis Dance Company, where he danced throughout the 1960s. Johnson choreographed his first dance, Suite, in 1969, and formed the Raymond Johnson Dance Company in 1974. The group toured extensively until 1980, when Johnson suffered a back injurry that forced him to disband the company and retire from dancing and choreography. Johnson worked as fiscal officer for the New York Foundation from 1981 until his death from a stroke in 1987.
The collection dates from 1976 to 1980, and holds contact sheets, negatives, and prints depicting the Raymond Johnson Dance Company. The contact sheets include various images of a 1980 performance in Kingston, New York. The negatives feature images shot by Max Waldman, and depict performances of Chamber, Black Dance, and Threshold. The prints contain many images of Johnson, as well as of Eric Haas, Howard Hacket, and Dick Singer
Donated by Don McDonagh in 1990.
Processed by Heather Lember in 2022.
Raymond Johnson papers, (S) *MGZMD 68, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.