Dancers tell stories of historic women

The stories of local women in history are important to Beverly Johnson, and she wanted to help get it right. She didn’t want to disrespect who they were. She didn’t want to misrepresent their legacies in any way. As a dancer with LITVAKdance, a nonprofit dance company in Encinitas, telling those stories through choreography allowed her to be part of the collective effort in the company to learn a bit more about history while applying it to the present.

The result is “Suffrage in the Desert,” a performance from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Borrego Springs Library, featuring the stories of San Diego’s early female pioneers told through dance, accompanied by the music of Meredith Yayanos and the artwork of Wren Polansky.

“It ties us more closely to the history of the place that we live in, and gives us context for what happened before us, the struggles and the triumphs of people we’d never known, doing bold and courageous things to pave the way for women and women of color like myself,” Johnson said of why this kind of storytelling is important to her and the company. “LITVAKdance is about reclaiming our histories and moving forward to create our new stories with that knowledge of our pasts. Our dance company is about the beauty of varying cultures and diversity, and of connecting with each other through our differences.”

Johnson, 28, lives in San Marcos. In addition to being a dancer, she also works as a coordinator at Community Interface Services, a nonprofit providing support services for people with disabilities and cancer. She choreographed a piece about a formerly enslaved woman named America Newton (litvakdance.com/america), who helped settle what is now known as Julian. She took some time to talk about what to expect at “Suffrage in the Desert” and her own love of dance.

Q: A:Tell us about the upcoming “Suffrage in the Desert” performance on Friday. This project has actually been ongoing for over two years. Funded by California Humanities and the California Arts Council, it was originally intended to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in 1920. We were going to perform at six county libraries around San Diego, to spark dialogue and thinking about what it meant to be a woman in San Diego pre-19th Amendment and what suffrage means in our current society. Our artistic director, Sadie Weinberg, and humanities adviser, Torie Quiñonez, looked for stories that reframed the way we think about who was part of that early history — sometimes those stories were surprising, like the solo I made about America Newton.

America Newton was an emancipated slave from Missouri in the mid-1800s and traveled west to California during the gold rush era. She helped to settle the town we now know as Julian. She owned her own laundry business. She was a female pioneer for both San Diego County and Black women in leadership and entrepreneurship.

Q:

Who are the women Litvak

chose to focus on for this performance, and why?

A:

The five original solos are

based on the lives of: Dot Smelser, a Fallbrook woman who died of the flu during the 1918 pandemic, after caring for her husband. Her story is reminiscent of our own frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eliza “Jenny” Scripps, of La Jolla, was the younger and eccentric halfsister of Ellen Browning Scripps, and she often facilitated much of Ellen’s philanthropy. María Amparo Ruíz de Burton, of Jamul, whose story highlights the huge impact the Californios (Mexicans living in California before California became part of the United States) had on our region. María’s story acts as a reminder that people of Spanish and Mexican descent have as much right to call California their home as people of British/Northern European descent. America Newton, of Julian, who was a formerly enslaved Black woman who helped settle Julian and was a property owner and small business owner. Eileen O’Connor, or the Lady in White, of Vallecito/Anza-Borrego Desert. She was a young woman who died en route to meet her fiancé during the gold rush.

The stories of María Amparo and American Newton specifically highlight that, from its infancy, San Diego has been a diverse space. For this particular presentation, our collaborative artist, Wren Polansky, is also including

pieces that bring attention to the Indigenous women who were already here before the arrival of the Spanish.

Q:

Can you walk us through

what people can expect to see and experience if they attend on Friday? And how the choreography communicates/aligns with these women’s stories?

A:

Audience members should

arrive by 5 p.m. at the Borrego Springs Library community room to view artwork by Wren Polansky and to hear music performed by collaborator/composer Meredith Yayanos, who composed the music for all the solos. At 5:15, there will be a short lecture about the project before guests walk to

the adjacent outdoor amphitheater to watch a performance of three of the solos as the sun sets behind the mountains. There will be time at the end of the program for audience members to dialogue with the performers.

Q:

You started classical ballet

training when you were 7 years old, at a community center in Yokosuka, Japan? What initially drew you to dance, as a child?

A:

My best friend at the time

was taking ballet classes, so I asked my parents if I could take ballet class, too. I ended up really liking it and being pretty good at it.

Q:

You’re also from a military

family? What kind of effect did the transitory nature of being in a military family have on your experience and training as a dancer?

A:

Ballet is very big in Japan.

It’s a popular dance form that a lot of people do. The teacher that I had at the community center in Yokosuka had his own ballet company, which I took some classes at, as well. I was very serious about ballet at that time. It was the only form of dance that I studied, and I was obsessed with it.

When I moved back to the states, I stuck with my ballet classes for a while, but began to be more exposed to other styles of dance forms like jazz, hip hop, and lyrical, and I began to become more curious about these other styles. I eventually started taking these classes, as well, and realized my love for dance extended beyond just ballet.

I was shy as a child, so moving was challenging for me. Going to a dance studio where I had this shared love with the other dancers there made it easier to make friends and feel that I could be part of a community.

Q:

Your bio also says that your

dancing is inspired by the beauty of nature, and by the playful curiosity of children? Can you talk a bit about how that playful curiosity in children inspires you as a dancer?

A:

I feel it’s important to keep

this playful curiosity and lightness to any process that I’m in; curiosity in how else I can move, how else I can feel in my body, and what newness I could find within my body that I’ve spent so much time tending to and sculpting throughout the years. When I think of playful curiosity, I think of having an innate excitement of wondering what else I might find out through these new processes of exploring new dance forms and working with inspiring choreographers. With Litvak, we have an upcoming performance at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, “Revisiting Repertoire.” We’ll be performing some of our most beloved pieces from past performances.

Q:

What has this work taught

you about yourself?

A:

This work has taught me the

importance of learning more about the women and people of our past, that there are many subtle yet great stories to share, and it’s got me thinking about what story I have to share with the world, what legacy I might leave here. Maybe I will have done something small yet mighty and someone in the future will look back on this and go, “Wow, she did something really great for the culture.”

Q:

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

A:

Life is fleeting; it’s too short to live in fear. I will not lie on my deathbed in regret of the things I did not do.

Q:

What is one thing people

would be surprised to find out about you?

A:

I recently started a YouTube

channel (it’s called “Beverly Lina”)! It’s centered around living life intentionally. I know you’re thinking, “How does she have the time?!” I ask myself that question every day.

Q:

Please describe your ideal

San Diego weekend.

A:

Saturday morning coffee,

maybe at The Cat Café with my journal, planner, and laptop to work on video content. Going for a hike, camping, chillin’ at the beach or somewhere outside in the sunshine. A good music venue to go dancing with friends at night. Sundays are for company class and dance rehearsal all afternoon with Litvak, which is my favorite way to spend my Sundays.