djassi daCosta johnson Named Artistic Director of DANCES FOR A VARIABLE POPULATION

Dances for a Variable Population (DVP), the community-based dance, education, and performance organization dedicated to transforming the lives of older adults through dance, has appointed djassi daCosta johnson as its Artistic Director. daCosta johnson succeeds DVP founder Naomi Goldberg Haas who transitioned to DVP's Artistic Director Emerita in August 2026. 

“As a native New Yorker, dance scholarship student, and beneficiary of tutelage from many elders who love dance in my community, I understand how important access to dance and the arts is for overall wellness and vital social connection,” said daCosta johnson. “I feel the many lives I've lived and paths I've walked as an artist, anthropologist, educator, writer, doula, and mother have led me to DVP. I have deep respect for the legacy that Naomi has built in providing dance and performance opportunities to aging communities, and I'm excited to honor that, as well as build upon it.”

“DVP is honored to welcome djassi daCosta johnson as its new Artistic Director,” said Executive Director Navarra Novy-Williams. “Her multidisciplinary dance practice deeply rooted in both creative expression and healing, along with her deep lived knowledge of communities and histories across the NYC arts landscape, opens an exciting new chapter of possibility for our communities and future audiences. I look forward to seeing all that she will build upon the visionary foundation laid by DVP's founder, Naomi Goldberg Haas.”

Since its founding in 2005, DVP has built a multigenerational dance company of professional dancers and students alike, that focuses on the creativity and artistic expression of older adults and welcomes people of all ages and abilities. DVP has since experienced steady growth, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to long-term relationships with community partners and students. Under Goldberg Haas's leadership, site-specific work for DVP's intergenerational company has been presented in Washington Square Park, the High Line, Grant's Tomb, Times Square, New York Botanical Garden, West Harlem Piers, and the Whitehall Ferry Terminal, as well as countless parks, libraries, and older adult centers throughout the city. Goldberg Haas's signature movement methodology Movement Speaks is taught in free weekly classes for older adults in over 30 sites across four boroughs, reaching over 800 students annually. DVP also offers remote classes daily. 

About djassi daCosta johnson

djassi daCosta johnson is a native New Yorker, classically trained modern dancer, choreographer, photographer, filmmaker, designer, writer, doula, and mother. djassi received her B.A. in Anthropology from Barnard College, trained at Harlem School of The Arts, Clark Center, was a scholarship student and repertory company member at Ballet Hispanico, and a fellowship student at Alvin Ailey for seven years. She obtained her MFA in Dance & New Media/ Technology from NYU Tisch in 2018 as a Dean's fellow. djassi has apprenticed, performed, and toured with Dance Brazil, Earl Mosley, Bill T. Jones, Hernando Cortez, Urban Bush Women, Forces of Nature, and was a soloist with MOMIX. djassi lived abroad as a dancer and choreographer in Brazil and Italy for almost a decade working on TV & Film at Cinecitta.

djassi's choreography has been displayed in fashion shows, music videos, international festivals and in films for ESSENCE, Nike, PNB Nation, Pandora Jewelry, and New York Fashion Week. In June 2023, she was commissioned to choreograph a piece for the opening ceremony at the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, SC. djassi joined The Metropolitan Opera Ballet in 2024 for the groundbreaking opera, El Niño. djassi's most recent film and tv credits include Not My Family (2025) for Lifetime and the ballroom scene of the season three finale of The Gilded Age.

An Assistant Professor of Dance, djassi started the first Dance Performance BFA concentration at The University of Virgin Islands from 2020-2022, teaching ballet, Horton, humanities, and theater, In 2020, with the goal of fostering and maintaining personal health, well-being, and connectivity with others, through the energetic healing of movement and dance, djassi began developing her Mycelium Movement class. Based on her mycology research and inspired by her 23 years as doula, these classes have been taught to students 7 to 80+ years old.

djassi writes in English, Italian, and Portuguese about dance, culture, women's issues with highlight on artists of color. She has written for Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, KINFOLK, {DIYdancer}, Harvard Design Magazine, VIBE, TRACE and Playbill among others. Most recently she has penned scripts for dance films and promotional videos for Dance Theater of Harlem and Alvin Ailey. Her film, GAIA & Luna: a mermaid dream journey was screened at the environmental film festival, Cinema Verde in February of 2023, winning the “Most Uplifting” Award.

As a performance artist, djassi collaborates with jazz musicians and visual artists and has been commissioned by Brooklyn Museum four times, including a performance in collaboration with Alice Walker for the release of her book Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart in 2019. In 2018 she choreographed and performed in the film Civil War as part of Joan Baez's visual album. In 2024 she performed with Joan Jonas for her Mirror Piece I & II at MOMA.

In 2014 djassi helped implement the modern dance program at Brooklyn Ballet and continues to teach Horton there and at Joffrey Ballet. She is a judge and master Horton teacher with Youth American Grand Prix. She was a 2023-24 Artist in Residence at the Barnard Movement Lab where she presented her multi-media project FUNGAL EARTH.

djassi has been filming and raising money for the past seven years for her feature documentary film LEGENDS AMONG US that aims to celebrate and highlight the aging (sung and unsung) pioneers of color in the classical ballet and modern dance worlds that have helped shape New York City's dance culture and impacted the face of the American and international dance scene for decades. She is also working on her memoir Dance Is My Passport.

djassi developed her Mycelium Movement class and workshop in 2020 based on her mycology research and inspired by her 23 years as doula, A native Harlemite, she currently resides in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, raising her multi-disciplinary artist daughter.