Work in Progress (Premieres March 2005) A work for two couples who dance complementary duets set in counterpoint, this work is set to Phillip Glass's soaring Violin Concerto. More than other Glass pieces this concerto features an intensely melodic line, which hovers above the usual Glass rhythms and segmented phrases. Ms. Johnson's choreography is a fracturing and rebuilding of common partnering interchanges now highly charged with both sensuality and poignancy. The couples are moving through an intense evolution in each relationship that echoes a universal, and almost ancient, sense of male/female dynamics.

Untitled (2004), with music by Henryk Gorecki and original lighting design by Jim Oakley, features passages of stillness and quiet interrupted by brief propulsive segments. Set to the composer's critically acclaimed Kleines Requiem fur eine Polka the work opens with a sequence for three women which slowly merges with a duet for a man and a woman, that is developing alongside. This pas-de-deux carries within it the deepest tenderness and yet is strongly sensually charged. The third movement's frantic pacing and almost desperate attempt at gaiety is reflected in Ms. Johnson's scene of ballroom dance fractured and spliced with sharp edged, angular phrases. This section includes the appearances of a number of young girls who join in the dancing. The final section is a haunting return to the earlier tone and opens with a repeat of the musical theme heard at the end of the second movement. The work ends with a hymn-like sequence that is never totally resolved musically. The choreography includes passages of weighted, peaceful phrases that sink to the floor and leave dancers there in an almost deathly quiet.

Three Part Inventions for Four (2004), set to J.S. Bach, features live music by concert pianist Steven Masi. Set within a circle of benches (designed by Noah Brauner), which the four dancers sit on when not dancing, this work feels like a small sketch or watercolor of gentle moments and gestures. The choreographic phrases are an extension of Ms. Johnson's vocabulary with attention paid to the fusing of balletic components with Ms. Johnson's own contemporary vocabulary. Having choreographed Bach's Goldberg Variations twice earlier in her career, this piece arose for the choreographer as a part of an ongoing exploration of her response to Bach variations.