Sunday Funday: Ballet, teaching and a second creative act
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Patricia Johnson-Vierra began studying ballet in 1970 at age 10, inspired by her best friend’s classes and mentored by Ms. Ingeborg Heuser.
She performed in The Nutcracker each year, dancing as a Page, a Mouse, and in the Waltz of the Flowers, under choreographer John McFall.
Her repertoire expanded to performances in Ruth Page’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Firebird , and Heuser’s Huapango, with additional Nutcracker roles in the Hot Chocolate and Coffee variations.
In 1976, after seeing the Dance Theatre of Harlem in Dallas, she met Arthur Mitchell, who offered a full scholarship to attend DTH’s summer program, and at 16 she studied in New York with Mitchell, Shook, LeClercq, and Holder.
That same year, she joined Ronn Guidi’s Oakland Ballet as an apprentice and moved to Oakland soon after high school graduation to start her professional career.
While with the Oakland Ballet, Patricia danced works by Massine, Sokolow, Loring, Wilde, and Fokine, among others, including La Boutique Fantasque, Rooms (Escape), Billy the Kid, The Rite of Spring, and Scheherazade.
Her four years with Oakland left her with lasting memories and lifelong friendships that have endured for nearly five decades.
Later, she turned to teaching, becoming an Apprentice Instructor with KidsExcel, guiding children with special needs and championing inclusive, affirming movement experiences.
Now retired from teaching, Patricia pursues visual art and design, and in March 2025 launched JOHVIELLE, an online boutique showcasing her artwork on bags, robes, slippers, and other apparel for dancers and art lovers.
