About Dr. Sherrill Berryman Johnson. 

Founder of Images of Cultural Artistry and the Howard University Dance Program.

Images of Cultural Artistry (ICA), Inc. was founded by Dr. Sherrill Berryman Johnson in 1989. 

 

Dr. Sherrill Berryman Johnson was born on December 5, 1947, in Washington, D.C. to the late Samuel T. Berryman and Matilene Spencer Berryman. During her early years, she attended local schools in the Washington, D.C. area. After high school, she attended Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. In 1972, she earned Bachelor of Science degree at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), Teachers College, English Major, Special Education Minor; 1973, Master of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Special Emphasis in Reading and African Studies; 1978, Master of Fine Arts, American University, Performing Arts and Dance; 1982, Doctorate of Philosophy, American University, Educational Administration. She was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Beta Lambda Chapter, UDC.

 

Sherrill Berryman Johnson was a Full Professor of Dance/Coordinator of the pioneering HBCU Howard University Board of Trustees approved Dance Major Program, Department of Theatre Arts, Division of Fine Arts, College of Arts and Sciences and the second only chairperson of the 25 year old International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD). She was choreographer, performer and artistic director for Images of Cultural Artistry Inc., In The Spirit of...Performance Company. With extensive study at the Katherine Dunham Institute, East St. Louis, Missouri and under the tutelage of Katherine Dunham and Pearl Reynolds, peace and blessings be upon their souls, since 1982 she was given permission to perform works of Katherine Dunham as well as her choreography including choreography including the Katherine Dunham technique, ballet, modern dance forms, traditional dance of West Africa, the Caribbean and America. Dr. Berryman Johnson’s work was with further extensive field research as the first Fulbright Scholar to conduct fieldwork on the secular/non-secular dance of Jamaica under the guidance of Professor Rex Nettleford, peace and blessings be upon him, at the University of West Indies, 1986-1987, specializing in roots and retention of African Americans in the African and Caribbean Cultural Continuum.

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Sherrill Berryman Johnson’s choreography includes special permission to stage the work of Katherine Dunham Los Indios; Street Rhythm Vibes [social dances and rhythms of America since 1920’s]; Black Madonna[power, image and synthesis of the African Goddess, Isis and the European symbol of Black Madonna]; Talking the Blues [collaborative/interdisciplinary performance work in homage to the music of African Americans]; and, Women of the Hills [respect to the gatekeepers of Latin America, Haitian, and Jamaican terrains]. She researched extensively and presented workshops, po, Jamaica, Barbados, England, Senegal, Mali, East and West Africa, South Africa, and Egypt.

 

Sherrill Berryman Johnson held a Ph.D. in Educational Administration of Dance and the Humanities. Her scholarly lectures included the titles “Dance: An Evolution of the Social, Cultural, Historical Identity for People of African Descent in America” and “Dance: A Cultural Continuity Reflecting Jamaican People-African Commonality and Artistic Creativity.” She was an educator, artist, and research scholar who received numerous grants for travel and work on traditional dances, performance art, and ritual practices. These included awards from the Howard University Office of the Provost Academic Excellence Grants, as well as collaborative grants to research Women of African Descent and the Retention of Healing Practices and the traditional dances of the Nubian’s Aswan, Egypt and the Sangoma’s Kwazulu, Natal, South Africa. She was a guest writer for Dance/USA Journal,TEMENOS Sacred Ground Journal and founder/editor/writer for the International Association of Blacks in Dance Journal. She was project director for the 1992-1993 Howard University Pearl PrimusArts Residency funded by the Lila Wallace Readers Digest Arts Partners Program administered by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.

 

Images of Cultural Artistry Inc., artistic director, production coordinator of the Howard University Dance Performance Series, Dr. Johnson served also as consultant to The Dance Place Dance Africa Festival series; coordinator of the annual Symposium of Dance Legendary Artists to Howard University; and host coordinator for the 2003 and 2004 IABD Conferences with co-sponsorship from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts which included honoring Ms. Katherine Dunham and Ms. Joan Myers Brown in Washington D.C. as well as co-hosts with artistic director Ronald K. Brown of EVIDENCE, A Dance Company for the 2006 IABD Conference, Brooklyn, NY. Under her guidance and leadership as chairperson, the first international IABD conference convened 2007 in Toronto, Canada.

 

Dr. Sherrill Berryman Johnson Educator, Teachers, Artist, Choreographer, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Mentor, and Friend, made her transition to be with the Ancestors on March 24, 2010 at her home in Washington, DC. May the Blessings of the Creator surround all of those whose lives she touched, however great or small the impression. May we all have comfort in knowing that Sherrill Berryman Johnson's presence in our lives will continue in the Spirit and through our thoughts and actions as we embrace all that she has shared and taught us through her example and mission. With the Blessings of the Creator, we are committed to continue and expand upon the legacy for which Sherrill Berryman Johnson has laid a strong foundation for the Howard University Dance Program and through the institution of Images of Cultural Artistry, Inc. in the manifestation and education of African and African-American cultural traditions. We ask for your prayers, encouragement and continued support of our efforts to sustain the legacy of Dr. Sherrill Berryman Johnson.

 

In Loving Memory
Sherrill Berryman Johnson

December 5, 1947 - March 24, 2010