Virginia Johnson, ahora Directora Artística del Dance Theatre de Harlem, fue miembro fundador y bailarina principal de la compañía durante más de veinte años. Nacida en Washington, DC, se graduó de la Academia de la Escuela de Ballet de Washington y asistió brevemente a la Escuela de Artes de la Universidad de Nueva York como becaria universitaria antes de unirse a DTH en 1969.

Universally recognized as one of the great ballerinas of her generation she is perhaps best known for her performances in the ballets Giselle, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Fall River Legend. During her years with the company, she performed most of the repertoire, with principal roles in Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Agon, A Streetcar Named Desire, Fall River Legend, Swan Lake, Giselle, Voluntaries, and Les Biches, among others, several of which were recorded for broadcast on PBS, network television and cable.

Her honors include a Young Achiever Award from the National Council of Women, Outstanding Young Woman of America, and the Dance Magazine Award, a Pen and Brush Achievement Award, the Washington Performing Arts Society’s 2008-2009 Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2009 Martha Hill Fund Mid-Career Award and an honorary doctorate from Cornish College of the Arts. She is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and The Society, Inc. In February 2016 she was honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White house for her contribution to the field of dance. In 2018 she held the Brackett Visiting Artist Chair at the University of Oklahoma and is the recipient of the 2019 CORPS de Ballet International Lifetime Achievement Award.