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Johari Mayfield

@joharimayfield

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Founder, Live In The Movement LLC
Dance Educator • Choreographer of Access
♠️ WILDCARD • 🦊 Mrs. Red Fox
Movement • Story • Belonging

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Happy beginning-of-the-school-year season. 🍎🦊

My mind goes from thing to thing, and this year is definitely evidence of that. How many projects can you count on my timeline? 🤣

I promise this didn’t start as some grand plan, and no, I am not developing a Den & Warren clothing line.

Yet.

But this bag is more than a school bag or a tote I carry my things in.

I work with children who enter learning in all kinds of ways. Some jump right in. Some watch first. Some move around the room. Some circle back. Some find the doorway I planned, and some find one I never would have thought of.

I understand something about wandering.

Part of my job as a teaching artist is building a room where children don’t have to become less of themselves in order to belong.

They see me, too—my clothes, my humor, my ideas, my slightly wandering brain, all of it. And I hope that tells them something:

There is room for you here.

DEN & WARREN
Home for Those Who Wander.

And yes, the next one may need a rabbit coming out of a secret pocket. 😂🐇 by @joharimayfield

Albuquerque, here I come! 🌵💃🏾

I’m excited to be presenting Movement as Language Across Communities at the National Dance Education Organization National Conference.

This session grew out of my teaching experiences in New York City and Uganda and explores how movement can support co-learning with and about each other across communities.

📍 Albuquerque, New Mexico
📅 Saturday, September 26

Looking forward to sharing, moving, and learning together. 💜 by @joharimayfield

Dear friends, collaborators, and supporters,

As the final days of school wrap up, I wanted to share a small reflection—and a few snapshots from the classroom to the stage.

From folktales to hip hop to yoga, it might look like I’ve covered a lot of ground this year. But truthfully, the longest journey I’ve taken has been from my mind to my heart—especially in learning how to teach in ways that honor neurodivergent students.

That kind of growth didn’t come from a training. It came from listening. From adapting. From showing up and staying—even when I wasn’t sure I was getting it right.

This work continues to deepen me. And every student I meet reminds me: movement is a language of connection, joy, and liberation.

Thank you for being part of this path—whether you supported, followed, funded, or simply witnessed.

🦊 #LiveInTheMovement
— Johari by @joharimayfield

Happy World Ballet Day! 🩰

First slide: me around 40. I’m 54 now, and I still love this image—the contrast of my ballet line against the graffiti.

Swipe for more movement: exploring my own style between hip-hop and ballet, then rehearsing with @heysarahbesque and @alicegenevievemoves for The Girls with the Enamel Eyes. ❤️

I’m in a bigger body these days. I want to make changes with care, without punishing myself. I can want change and appreciate who I am right now.

I’m proud of the woman in that photo. And I like the woman I am now, too. by @joharimayfield

Yesterday’s @arts_sped conference was wonderful!

A big takeaway for me was service: sharing practical tools that support students while also supporting the teaching artists who move between multiple residencies and classes.

During “Movement as Language: Inclusive Arts Strategies,” we moved, created, and explored different ways to participate. We also had a “prop tour” of sorts—sharing portable materials and ideas that teaching artists can adapt and use on the go.

Self-care belongs in this conversation, too. How can our tools serve our students while making our teaching lives more manageable?

Grateful for the opportunity to share, learn, and create together. 🦊 by @joharimayfield

No filter today. Might roll up with one tomorrow. Neither makes me better than the next person.

Hair is fake. Lipstick is red. Gen X. Still ornery.

Five Four incoming. 😂💋 by @joharimayfield

Warming up at @ifetayoculture before teaching ballet, one week before my 54th birthday. 🩰❤️

I recently produced and choreographed my first trio in 19 years, and a former student is performing as a soldier in New York City Ballet’s The Nutcracker.

And I’m looking forward to jumping again—and holding my leg up without my hand helping. Like, for real. 😂

Classical training. True colors. Still moving. Still creating. Still learning. by @joharimayfield

The Girls with the Enamel Eyes

My first trio in 19 years, created for the Janet Panetta Legacy Concert at @artsonsite

A playful reimagining of Coppélia, one of my favorite ballets. Delibes met 50 Cent. The dolls got ideas. A very large dance book appeared. Someone made a giant gold wind-up key. Things escalated. 😂

Thank you to @heysarahbesque and @alicegenevievemoves for bringing artistry, humor, and generosity to the process, and to Jeremy Lintz for the music mix.

Turns out returning to choreography didn’t require returning as the artist I used to be. I could make something from where I am now—with curiosity, collaboration, irreverence, and joy.

Grateful to have made this one in Janet’s memory. ❤️ by @joharimayfield

SYNERGY. ❤️

That was the theme of @ndeodance 2026, and somehow it became the theme of my entire Albuquerque experience.

Synergy between worlds.
Between time and place.
Between cultures.
Between old friends and new ones.
Between teaching and learning.

I came to share my work around movement, access, and co-learning, but I also came to listen, wander, exchange ideas, and learn from the people and places around me.

Maybe that’s what synergy really is—not simply bringing different things together, but allowing them to change one another.

Albuquerque, you were good to me. ❤️

SYNCOPATE 2027. 👀 by @joharimayfield

So nice to connect with Baltimore School for the Arts Alum, Johari Mayfield, presenter at the National Dance Education Organization Conference, 2026! #movement literacy #Ugandaandnewyorkexchange

California Dance Education Association’s social gathering with NDEO Executive Director, Ray Schwartz!

So proud to witness and celebrate the excellent presentations by my esteemed colleagues from Los Angeles! #NDEO 2026 by @joharimayfield

Harlem came together for an unforgettable afternoon of food, live jazz, laughter, and purpose! 💚

Thank you to everyone who helped us turn community in Harlem into meaningful impact for children in Uganda. Enjoy the memories, tag your friends, and share your favorite moments! 📸🇺🇬

#HarlemBBQForACause #LAHUUSA #communitywithpurpose by @joharimayfield

48 hours. On Saturday, Harlem gathers for Uganda. Come eat, sip, connect, and help LAHU-USA move the Chicken Coop Project forward. There's still time to join us—but not much.

JOIN US SATURDAY 🎉 by @joharimayfield