The Forgotten Composer Your Dance Students Should Know

Julia Wagner · 2026-06-16

### A Composer History Almost Left Behind Francis Johnson isn't exactly a household name. But if you run a dance studio or teach choreography, his story might be one of the most useful you'll ever share with students. Johnson was a Black composer and bandleader in early 19th-century Philadelphia. He wrote more than 300 pieces, led one of the first racially integrated bands in the country, and toured Europe to serious acclaim. Then, like a lot of history, he got quiet. His manuscripts scattered. His name faded from concert programs. For decades, most people in classical and dance circles had never heard of him. That's changing. A recent revival of his music has brought his work back into concert halls, and the timing couldn't be better for dance educators who want repertoire with real depth. ### Why This Matters for Dance Studios Here's the thing: your students don't just need steps. They need context. They need to feel like the music they're moving to actually means something. Johnson's compositions are a gift for that. His work blends European classical forms with African American musical traditions, which makes it a natural fit for: - **Historical choreography units** where students study how social dance evolved in the 1800s - **Improvisation classes** that need music with clear rhythmic structure but room to play - **Repertoire building** for studios that want to move beyond the usual canon - **Diversity programming** that isn't performative but rooted in real artistic merit If you've ever struggled to find period music that isn't overused, Johnson's catalog is a goldmine. ### What Choreographers Can Actually Do With It I talked to a few instructors recently, and the same point kept coming up. The hardest part of teaching historical dance isn't the steps. It's getting students to care. Johnson's music solves that problem because the story is genuinely compelling. He was a free Black man in a time when that was rare. He played for presidents and for everyday dances. He crossed boundaries that most people didn't dare to cross. > "When students learn that the composer was breaking barriers while writing this music, they listen differently," one studio owner told me. "It stops being an assignment and starts being a story." That shift matters. It's the difference between a student going through the motions and a student leaning in. ### Practical Ways to Bring Johnson Into Your Classes You don't need a musicology degree to use this material. Start small. - **Pick one piece** and build a short combination around it. Ten minutes is enough. - **Share the backstory** before you teach the movement. Two or three sentences. That's it. - **Let students improvise** to a Johnson tune and then discuss what they felt. The rhythms often surprise them. - **Pair it with a written reflection** for older students. A paragraph on what the music made them notice. If you're a choreographer working on a new piece, consider Johnson as a starting point. His music has enough texture to support everything from a solo to a full ensemble work. ### The Bigger Picture for Dance Education Revivals like this don't happen by accident. They happen because someone decided the work was worth saving. As dance educators, you're part of that chain. Every time you put a composer like Johnson in front of a student, you're keeping the music alive in a way that sheet music alone can't. The steps fade. The stories stay. And right now, there's a story worth telling sitting right in front of you, waiting for a studio floor and a group of students who've never heard it before.