Rush Johnston (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based multimedia choreographer, performer, poet, filmmaker, and movement researcher. Rush creates at the intersection of visual and performing art, often exploring modes of artistic expression beyond the binary. As a queer, Native, neurodiverse artist, their work often plays with perception and identity, inviting viewers to question proposed truths of self and social misunderstanding. Social justice work is a key element of Rush’s creative vision, often encompassing themes of political turmoil, queerness, and mental health.
Rush holds a BFA in Dance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Rush has worked with renowned artists such as Kyle Abraham, Danielle Agami, Yin Yue, Katherine Helen Fisher, and Jennifer Archibald. Rush made their international debut in 2022 as an ATLAS choreographer at ImPulsTanz in Vienna, Austria. They also serve as the Dance Editor for the literary and arts magazine Carolina Muse, and as the Parade Programming Lead for the New York City Dance Parade and Festival. Rush is the founder and artistic director of Kaleid Dance Collective, an interdisciplinary artistic platform for creative experiments and exhibitions.