THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 13, 1995 TAG: 9510110205
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Let The Johnsons take you and your family on a musical journey through American history.
Families are in for a rare free treat Saturday if they mosey on over to the Chesapeake Central Library for a 1:30 p.m. tuneful look at the many ethnic groups who contributed to the development of America.
The Johnsons - Chesapeake residents Carolyn Hine Johnson and her husband, Scott Peter Johnson - are a professional singing, dancing and musical twosome whose current program is a staple of the prestigious Young Audiences of Virginia performing roster.
The national Young Audiences network is a nonprofit group that strives to bring performers in all art disciplines to area schools, churches, community centers, libraries and other places. Its ethnically and educationally diverse programs encourage students to use their imaginations, solve problems and understand the world around them.
With The Johnsons, Saturday's audience will do just that.
``We like to use song and dance as a way to look at different people who made this country called America,'' Carolyn Johnson said. ``This new program is a sequel to the one we did last year.''
Last year's program featured Maria the dancer (Carolyn Johnson) and Beaux Art the Pirate (Scott Johnson) taking audiences on a musical trip through colonial America. Johnson said this year's version finds the same two characters taking youngsters and their families on a tour of the ``west.''
``We're talking about the wonderful west of the 19th century,'' she explained. ``And remember, during that century, all of America was considered the west.''
Johnson said she and her husband will show the African roots of jazz on New Orleans' showboats, demonstrate a Mexican hat dance, perform tunes and dances from the California gold rush, sing songs from the Civil War, and learn about the many contributions made by the Greeks, Jews, Italians and Chinese to American culture.
The program - which was co-written by Johnson and her husband - will be filled with lots of good natured humor, songs and authentic dances, Johnson said.
``We're really educators and artists,'' she explained. ``We both do a lot of research for our programs. We study books and references at libraries and we spend a lot of time interviewing and learning from people from many diverse cultures. Within our characters we give many facts and we use a map of the United States as a backdrop we use to point out different places and regions.''
Johnson said the program will last about 50 minutes and will appeal to people of all ages.
``Our programs are designed for school age children but we find when parents come to our shows, they stay and enjoy themselves as much as the children,'' Johnson said. ``We both have acting backgrounds, but I'm a dancer who also happens to sing and my husband is a singer and musician who also happens to dance, so it works out well.''
During the program, Scott Johnson bumbles along as Beaux Art the not-so-fearsome pirate who wants to be a cowboy. He incorporates guitar, banjo and harmonica into the act while his wife demonstrates an African dance from Senegal, a Chinese ribbon dance, a square dance with French/English roots, a Mexican hat dance, German waltz, Navajo ritual dance and Polish polka.
``We're also strong on audience participation,'' Johnson said. ``We have children dance with us and sing with us. They all love it. We've never had a problem of our audience not wanting to get involved.''
And the Johnsons know something about educating and performing.
Carolyn Johnson studied flamenco dance with Vickie Cooke, who has performed with the legendary Jose Greco. She is currently working on her doctorate on dance education with Temple University in Philadelphia. She is currently in the dissertation stage of her work.
In addition, she has performed with The Actors Theatre, Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation and Young Audiences and has choreographed for Regent University productions. She also founded a dance company and has directed and choreographed several seasonal and church productions in Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Her husband, meanwhile, is also working on his doctorate in communications from Regent University. He is also music director at the Providence Friends Evangelical Church and has conducted and directed several church and folk choirs. He also taught private music lessons, composed church music, performed at clubs and restaurants and composed original programs for various church and performance groups.
The two have spent the better part of their lives performing, teaching and studying. They have collaborated on many programs, including ballets on the lives of great composers, seasonal holiday performances and programs.
Both have participated in actors' groups and workshops, church programs and performance groups locally and in the Midwest.
``At the end of our performance, Maria and Beaux Art the Pirate both realize they have lots of treasures,'' Carolyn Johnson said. ``But they're not treasures of gold and diamonds, rather the treasures one gets when one makes lots of friends, learns about the world and benefits from other cultures.'' ILLUSTRATION: Performers Scott and Carolyn Johnson.
AT A GLANCE
What: ``The Wild, Wonderful West'' with Maria and Beaux Art the
Pirate
Who: The Johnsons, a Young Audiences of Virginia ensemble
When: Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Chesapeake Central Library, 298 Cedar Road
Cost: Free, but seating is limited, so get there early.
Call: For more information, call the library at 547-6562.
by CNB