Ƶ and Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts present “Johnny Loves Johann”
Ƶ and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts (Kenan Arts) at Ƶ present “Johnny Loves Johann,” a new work led by Grammy-winning violinist and 2024 MacArthur Fellow Johnny Gandelsman. The work unfolds as a vibrant and intimate conversation with Johann Sebastian Bach’s music, celebrating the dance and humanity at the heart of the composer's iconic Cello Suites. Carolina Performing Arts (CPA) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Kenan Institute for the Arts serve as lead co-commissioners for the project.
Performances will take place Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. in Agnes de Mille Theatre, 1533 South Main Street on the Ƶ campus. Post-performance curtain chat scheduled for Saturday, May 2. Tickets start at $30 and may be purchased online or by calling the box office at 336-721-1945.
“Johnny Loves Johann” pairs Gandelsman’s live folk-inspired interpretation of Bach’s complete Cello Suites on violin with original choreography and performances by John Heginbotham, Caili Quan, Jamar Roberts and Melissa Toogood. The evening-length work places Bach’s music in conversation with contemporary choreography and performance. Each choreographer created movement in response to a suite of their choosing, while additional sections of the work were developed collaboratively.
"Johnny Loves Johann"
Developed through creative residencies in 2025 at Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, as well as with the Joyce Theater and Works & Process at Guggenheim in New York City and The Yard on Martha's Vineyard, “Johnny Loves Johann” reflects a collaborative process among musicians, choreographers and partner institutions. Development of the work also included a weeklong residency hosted by Kenan Arts at Ƶ in December 2025, which included educational engagement with students from Ƶ’s schools of Dance and Music.
Gandelsman’s interpretation of the suites forms the foundation of the work. Performed on violin rather than cello, the music takes on a distinctive physical and sonic character, creating a framework for choreography by Heginbotham, Quan, Roberts and Toogood. Each artist contributes a unique approach to the material while participating in a shared performance structure.
The project also reflects the ongoing collaboration between the Kenan Institute for the Arts and Carolina Performing Arts in the in the commissioning, development and presentation of new work, along with educational programming that connects artistic practice with student engagement and public performance.
"'Johnny Loves Johann' perfectly reflects Kenan Arts’ mission to support the creation of bold, collaborative work that elevates independent artists,” says Kevin Bitterman, executive director of the Kenan Institute for the Arts. “By supporting Johnny Gandelsman and four visionary choreographers through our co-commissioning partnership with Carolina Performing Arts, we are helping to forge an intimate, music‑driven conversation with contemporary dance that amplifies artistic voices and offers audiences a fresh, exhilarating performance experience."
The creative team for “Johnny Loves Johann” also includes scenic design and sculpture fabrication by artist Arlene Shechet, costume design by Maile Okamura, and lighting design by serena wong. Their artistry shapes the visual environment of the performance. Additional collaborators include creative associates Alessio Crognale-Roberts, Laurel Dalley Smith, Maile Okamura and Andrea Yorita.
About the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts (Kenan Arts)
Artists change the way we see the world. At the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, we make space for that change to happen. From our home at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, we support artists, spark collaboration, and connect creative communities across the Southeast and beyond. For more than three decades, Kenan Arts has backed bold ideas, nurtured partnerships, and helped the arts thrive in times of challenge and transformation. By expanding pathways to creativity for artists, students, and communities, we continue that work with a clear vision for a world where artists are valued and creativity is a driving force for change. For more information, visit .
About Johnny Gandelsman
Called “A violinist who can do anything” by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Grammy-winning violinist and producer Gandelsman integrates a wide range of creative sensibilities into a style unique among today’s violinists. Richard Brody of The New Yorker has called Johnny “revelatory” in concert, placing him in the company of “radically transformative” performers like Maurizio Pollini, Peter Serkin and Christian Zacharias. He is a 2024 MacArthur Fellow.
Johnny’s recording of J.S. Bach’s complete “Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Chart, made it onto New York Magazine and The New York Times best-of-the-year lists. Johnny’s next release, featuring Bach’s complete “Cello Suites,” transcribed for violin, was enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike. His interpretation was described by The New York Times as “weightless, at times seemingly improvisatory, and completely grounded in dance.”
A passionate advocate for new music, Johnny has premiered more than 80 new compositions. As a founding member of Brooklyn Rider and a former member of the Silkroad Ensemble, Johnny has closely worked with such luminaries as Bela Fleck, Martin Hayes, Kayhan Kalhor, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris, Anne Sofie von Otter, Alim Qasimov, Fargana Qasimova, Joshua Redman, Suzanne Vega, Abigail Washburn and Damian Woetzel.
Johnny has been producing records since starting his label, In a Circle Records, in 2008. Recent credits include music from Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt’s PBS documentary film “The American Revolution,” and Brooklyn Rider’s “The Four Elements.” Johnny was born in Moscow in 1978 and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1990. He has lived in New York since 1999.
About John Heginbotham
Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, John Heginbotham graduated from The Juilliard School in 1993 and was a member of Mark Morris Dance Group from 1998 to 2012. In 2011, he founded Dance Heginbotham, a New York-based contemporary performance company that tours nationally and internationally.
John received a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2014 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. Other acknowledgements include a World Choreography Award nomination for “The Umbrella Academy” in 2023; the National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron-NCCAkron Research Fellowship from 2018 to 2020; New York City Center Choreography Fellowship from 2017 to 2018; NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts Fellowship in 2016; the Jerome Robbins Foundation New Essential Works Fellowship in 2010 and 2012; and the Bowen Award for Inclusive Choreography in 2025.
John’s independent choreographic projects include the Tony- and Olivier Award-winning revival of “Oklahoma!,” directed by Daniel Fish; “Meet The Family,” Season 3, Episode 1 of “The Umbrella Academy” on Netflix, directed by Jeremy Webb; “Peter and the Wolf” for Works & Process at the Guggenheim, directed by Isaac Mizrahi; “RACECAR” for The Washington Ballet; “Music City” for BEDLAM, directed by Eric Tucker; “Once Upon a Mattress” for Central City Opera, directed by Alison Moritz; “La Traviata” for San Francisco Opera and LA Opera, directed by Shawna Lucey; and John Adams’ “Girls of the Golden West,” directed by Peter Sellars. John is the director of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble, and he is on faculty in Dartmouth College’s Department of Theater. John is a founding teacher of Dance for PD®.
About Caili Quan
Quan is a New York City-based choreographer whose work has been commissioned by New York City Ballet, BalletX, Vail Dance Festival, Ballet West, The Juilliard School, New York Choreographic Institute, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, American Repertory Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Flight Path Dance Project and Ballet Academy East. Beyond concert dance, Caili has choreographed productions of “Guys & Dolls” and “She Loves Me” for Opera Saratoga.
From 2012 to 2020, Caili danced with BalletX, performing new works by Matthew Neenan, Nicolo Fonte and Penny Saunders. She toured with the company to Jacob’s Pillow, the Belgrade Dance Festival and “DEMO” by Damian Woetzel at The Kennedy Center.
Caili’s short documentary “Mahålang” — an exploration of her Chamorro Filipino upbringing on Guam through conversations and choreography from BalletX’s “Love Letter” — was accepted into the Hawai’i International Film Festival and screened at the Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. Ballet West presented her work “Play on Impulse” in “10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography,” curated by The Kennedy Center and Phil Chan.
Caili was a 2022 artist-in-residence at the Vail Dance Festival, a 2023 artist-in-residence at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, and has been an Arnhold Creative Associate at The Juilliard School since 2021.
About Jamar Roberts
Roberts is a choreographer and former dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, where he was resident choreographer from 2019 to 2022. Jamar has made six works for AAADT: “Members Don’t Get Weary” (2016), “Ode” (2019), “A Jam Session for Troubling Times” (2020), “Holding Space” (2021), “In a Sentimental Mood” (2022) and “Al-Andalus Blues” (2024). He has also set “Gemeos” (2016) on Ailey II. For New York City Ballet, he has created the film “Water Rite” (2020), “Emanon – In Two Movements” (2022) and “Foreseeable Future” (2025).
Jamar has also been commissioned by Vail Dance Festival, New York City Center’s “Sara Mearns: Artists at the Center” and Fall for Dance Festival, The Juilliard School, BalletX, San Francisco Ballet, L.A. Dance Project, ABT Studio Company, Parsons Dance, Martha Graham Dance Company, Miami City Ballet and Works and Process at the Guggenheim, where he created the film “Cooped.” The March on Washington Film Festival invited Jamar to create a tribute to John Lewis, and he also made the film “The First Bluebird in the Morning” for LA Opera.
Jamar is a graduate of the New World School of the Arts and the Ailey School. He first joined AAADT in 2002 and retired from dancing in 2021. His awards include the 2016 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer, and he has performed as a guest artist internationally, including with the Royal Ballet in London, as well as with Ailey II and Complexions. Jamar was a director’s fellow at NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts, has been featured twice on the cover of Dance Magazine, and currently serves as an Arnhold Creative Associate at Large and distinguished visiting faculty at The Juilliard School.
About Melissa Toogood
Toogood is a Bessie Award-winning performer. Over a prolific freelance career, she has performed works by renowned choreographers including Kyle Abraham, Kimberly Bartosik, Wally Cardona, Michelle Dorrance, Rosie Herrera, Rashaun Mitchell, Jodi Melnick, David Parker, Stephen Petronio, Sally Silvers, Jamar Roberts, Christopher Williams and others. Melissa is best known for her long-standing relationship with Pam Tanowitz Dance, where she has been an artistic force for nearly two decades. From 2012 to 2022, she served as rehearsal director and assisted Tanowitz on numerous projects, including new commissions for Royal Ballet London, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ballet Austin and Paul Taylor American Modern Dance.
A former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Melissa was part of the final generation personally trained by Cunningham. She is a 2013 and 2015 Merce Cunningham fellow. Since 2007, she has taught Cunningham Technique internationally and currently serves as an official stager for the Merce Cunningham Trust, continuing to share his legacy with new generations of artists. As a choreographer, her work has been commissioned by Boston Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, Vail Dance Festival and the Ukaria Cultural Centre in Adelaide, Australia, in collaboration with Brooklyn Rider. A regularly featured artist at the Vail International Dance Festival, Melissa first met and began collaborating with Johnny there more than a decade ago. Melissa earned her BFA in dance from New World School of the Arts, and in 2025 was appointed dean and director of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School, where she continues to shape the future of dance through education.
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April 21, 2026