Tigertail Productions always brings innovative, cutting-edge performing artists to Miami that challenge our preconceived notions of what performance art is and can be. These artists push the conceptual boundaries of art and create new points of reference. Emily Johnson is no exception.

Emily Johnson.

Emily Johnson is a native Alaskan who played basketball, ran long distance and surreptitiously learned to become a choreographer and dancer. Last October she won a coveted “Bessie” for Best Production.

Her new work, “Niicugni,” is a Tup’ik word that means to listen, to pay attention. Niicugni takes place within a “light/sound installation of handmade fish-skin lanterns,” and it quietly asks the audience to listen. It compels us to experience Niicugni’s multi-layering of dances, live music, stories and histories.

For those dancers and movers interested in working with Johnson, there’s a workshop on Wednesday, March 20th, from 7-8:30 p.m.

Free workshop with Emily Johnson on Wednesday, March 20, from 7-8:30 p.m. “Niicugni” will be performed Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23, at 8:30 p.m. At the OnStage Black Box Theater at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium, 2901 W. Flagler St., Miami; 305-547-5414. $30. For more information, please visit Tigertail’s website.