Emily Johnson/ catalyst at ASU Gammage

Celebrated director, choreographer, curator Emily Johnson (Native Alaskan Yup'ik) presents NIICUGNI (Listen) a new dance performance, housed within a light and sound installation made of hanging fish-skin sculptures. Johnson’s almost ethereal ability to weave elements of theater, dance and art installation into a uniquely affecting experience is not to be missed. The fish-skin sculptures will be produced by local community members during her residency at ASU Gammage and will be an integral part of an unforgettable theatrical journey fusing music and dance with contemporary performance. The effect is one of taking us out of the theater and into nature, to NIICUGNI (Listen) to our connection with the Earth and our ancestors.

"Niicugni is many things. Here's what I can tell you: it is a dance that took thousands of years to make. It is a story made of many. It is a word that instructs us to listen. There is hope here, and death; monsters and laughter; salmon, bear, blood. There is you, everyone who has ever lived, the ground beneath us, and a never ending attempt to pay attention. I made this for you and it is also for my dad." - Emily Johnson