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Holly Johnston

@responsivebody

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a social movement and body liberation practice expanding the arts and sciences of loving ❤️

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Roots of Loving Us Premiere Tonight
Not only do I get to share the brilliant dancemaking of holly johnston and CONTRA TIEMPO alongside incredible artists, I feel extremely blessed to perform with some incredible artistry by friends Meena and Sabela.
You’re in for treat for the visuals and soundscape tonight.

Friday October 16, 7:30 PM
UCSD ArtPower
Epstein Family Amphitheate

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UC San Diego Today takes you behind the scenes of ROOTS OF LOVING US, a world premiere making its debut tomorrow, October 16, at the @ucsdamphitheater!

Read the full article at the link in our story or visit today.ucsd.edu.

📅 FRI, OCTOBER 16 AT 7:30 PM
📍 EPSTEIN FAMILY AMPHITHEATER
🎟️ TICKETS: $30–$55
🎓 UCSD STUDENTS: FREE TICKETS VIA SSO

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Join @contra_tiempo tomorrow evening for ROOTS OF LOVING US!

Featuring Holly Johnston’s TDPF 160 students in a powerful collaboration with four UC San Diego faculty artists: Holly Johnston (@responsivebody), Ana María Álvarez (@movementartivist), Dr. Grace Shinhae Jun (@dr.mamagrace), and Chris Kuhl, alongside @artpoweratucsd.

ROOTS OF LOVING US explores how love, connection, and belonging shape our lives through movement, collaboration, and community.

📅 FRI, OCTOBER 16 AT 7:30 PM
📍 EPSTEIN FAMILY AMPHITHEATER
🎟️ TICKETS: $30–$55
🎓 UCSD STUDENTS: FREE TICKETS VIA SSO

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I have been so BLESSED to have spent the last year and a half in deep conversation and practice with beautiful and dope artists.
Come see the work this Friday at UCSD Epstein Family Amphitheater

CONTRA-TIEMPO @contra_tiempo
Roots of Loving Us: the World Premiere | FRI. OCT. 16th
Presented by @artpoweratucsd

Experience the transformative power of love.
Directed by holly johnston @responsivebody

Ana Maria Alvarez @movementartivist
holly johnston @responsivebody
Amainary Contreras @amainary
grace shinhae jun @dr.mamagrace
Maria Garcia @beingme_mari
Ruby Morales @rubezyo

https://artpower.ucsd.edu/event/contra-tiempo-activist-dance-theater-roots-of-loving-us/

Link for community discount tickets in my bio.

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Roots of Loving Us: the World Premiere | FRI. OCT. 16th

Experience the transformative power of love
@responsivebody @contra_tiempo @artpoweratucsd

Embodied Organizer Cast
Ana Maria Alvarez @movementartivist
holly johnston @responsivebody
Amainary Contreras @amainary
Grace Shinhae Jun @dr.mamagrace
Maria Garcia @beingme_mari
Ruby Morales @rubezyo

Trailer edited by @hess_da_mess

Tickets are limited and are available in our bio🔗

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Gratitude to movement, for bringing me back to myself again and again.

Gratitude to breath, for grounding me, guiding me, and reminding me to be present. For the way it connects me to my body, creates space within me, and carries me through moments of challenge, release, and discovery. For the reminder that sometimes, the smallest inhale and exhale can open the door to something new.

Gratitude to my body, for carrying me, teaching me, holding me, and allowing me to feel. For its strength, its softness, its resilience, and its ability to surprise me. For its capacity to push, to stretch, to explore, to discover, to endure, and to expand into possibilities I have yet to discover. To learn where my edges are, to honor my limits, and to find new possibilities within them.

Gratitude to growth, for reminding me that becoming is a lifelong journey. That there is beauty in the unfolding, in the discomfort, in the rest, and in the courage it takes to keep showing up.

Thank you to dance for reminding me that my body is not just something I inhabit, but a vessel and source of knowledge, expression, possibility, and connection.

May I never take for granted the privilege of moving, breathing, feeling, discovering, and becoming. 🫀✨

📍: Nate Holden PAC @ebonyrep
🗓️: @contra_tiempo Community Repertoire Class
🧠: holly johnston (@responsivebody) from a section of Roots of Loving Us premiering this Friday October 16 at Epstein Family Theater in La Jolla, CA
🎶: @yameansupreme

What a gift to have the opportunity to learn from holly johnston — to be in spaces that invite me to listen more deeply, move more consciously, and discover new ways of understanding my body, my breath, and what is possible through movement.

Thank you, holly , for your love and care, your wise reminders, the brilliance you embody, and the heART you so generously share. 🫂

#gratitude #dance #fromtheheart #becoming

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Roots of Loving Us is more than a performance.

It is a way we reimagine a future built by the memories and the embodied archives of our past and our present. It is a collection of movement narratives. A collection of connection, of memories, and the remembrance that to create is the most human action we can practice.

In order to choose love. We must choose to care for the roots in which we sprouted from, the roots that keep our body and souls interconnected.

Thank you @shenandoahconservatory for sharing your space and your stories 🌱

Slide 1 pc: @artbyvrisika
Slide 2-4 pc: @shenandoahconservatory media team

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Experience the transformative power of love OCT. 16th @artpoweratucsd

#MovementIsMedicine

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A Love Letter to my Committee:

I still can’t believe that for the last two years, I’ve gotten to be mentored by these four LEGENDS. You could pinch me and I would still think I’m dreaming.

@davidaolarte thank you for seeing me. Thank you for pushing me while also encouraging me to be my own artist, first and always. You are not only a deep inspiration for your brilliance and work ethic, but what you have done for the salsa community within higher education could not be praised enough. Thanks for being my friend 🤗

@lizlerman thank you for the depth of your questions and the way you pushed me to see every side of every coin. You’ve made me a more fluid artist and human. Thank you for our big moments and our sweet small moments where I felt held, seen, heard, and appreciated.

@tasha_b_va thank you for the hard pushes and the joyous ruckus of our laughter in every room we’re in together. Thank you for teaching me how to harness the skills I have and push deeper into the things my spirit knew before my head did.

@responsivebody thank you for always affirming that my neurodivergence is my super power. Thank you for always placing our bodies and our stories at the forefront of our artistic conversations and for reminding me that I am, and always will be, an art activist first and foremost. Thank you for always reminding me to be a good troublemaker 🫣

I love you all deeply and I’m forever honored to have sat in spaces with the GOATS that I get to call my Committee!!

Love,
Your biggest fan!!

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CONTRA-TIEMPO: Activist Dance Theater presents Roots of Loving Us at the @ucsdamphitheater on October 16!

The world-premiere features three T+D dance faculty members: @contra_tiempo Artistic Director Ana María Álvarez (@movementartivist), performer Dr. grace shinhae jun (@dr.mamagrace), and performer/ choreographer holly johnson (@responsivebody).

Drawing from conversations with adoptees, foster families, chosen families, and support networks, Roots of Loving Us examines how love, connection, and belonging shape our lives.

For tickets and more info head to the DEPT EVENTS link in our bio, or visit theatre.ucsd.edu/performances-and-events/department-events/index.html

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Nothing better than the sounds of communidad

Don’t miss our next Open Community Repertoire class and the last opportunity of the season to be immersed in the healing process of “Roots of Loving Us” before its premiere date on OCT. 16 at @artpoweratucsd .

Sunday OCT. 11
3:30-5:30pm
📍 Nate Holden Performing Arts Center

#contratiempo #jointhemovement #dance #movementculture

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Artistic director @movementartivist & Somatic ecologist @responsivebody sharing the future they move towards ✨💭🧡

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What future are you moving/dancing towards?

#contratiempo #movement #losangeles #jointhemovement

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“Roots of Loving Us” directed by @bridgetcvalenzuela

This short film documented the start of an unforgettable community-driven creative journey with CONTRA-TIEMPO and Responsive Body, back in March 2025. Since then has been screened at the World Culture Film Festival, Life Film Festival 2026, and the Golden Eagle Film Festival.

Roots has continued to evolve, collecting and spreading narratives of love across the country. From the west to the east coast- our family, our roots, have and will always be intertwined.

Come witness the narrative💛
🌍 World Premiere
📅 October 16, 2026 | 7:30 PM
📍 Epstein Family Amphitheater, UC San Diego | La Jolla, CA
🔗 Link in bio to get your tickets now.

#lovelikegravity #familyiseverything #danceperformance #artpower #dancetheater

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🎥 Credits
Director – Bridget Valenzuela
Producer – Malinda Valdez
Writer/Researcher – Edgar Ortega
Cinematographer – Hugo San Juan Garcia
Editors – Chelsea Holzgang & William Luong
Colorist – Chelsea Holzgang
Assistant Colorist – Ryan Ortega
Sound & Music Editing – Ryan Ortega

🌟 Featuring Company Members
Ana Maria Alvarez
Jannet Galdamez
holly johnston
Maritxell Carrero
Jasmine Stanley
Maria Garcia
Jose Jose Arrieta
Norma Ovalle
Amainary Contreras

💬 With Participants
Victoria O’Neal
Jesse Ocampo
Margarita Gonzalez
Brianna Roche
Dey Guzman

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