About Johari

IT ALL STARTED WHEN… Johari Mayfield realized movement was more than steps—it was survival, imagination, and truth.

“Live in the movement” became her mantra as a dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist in New York City.

After training extensively in ballet with Sylvester Campbell, Johari earned a scholarship to the Ailey School, where she studied for over two years. She performed in NYC with Janet Panetta, Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, Joan Miller’s Dance Players, and others. As a choreographer, her work has been presented at HERE Arts Center, the Gatehouse at Aaron Davis Hall, 45 Bleecker Theater, and Dance Theatre Workshop (now New York Live Arts).

Currently, Johari brings her joy, rigor, and radical care to students through the Misty Copeland Foundation, Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Marquis Studios, and Eryc Taylor Dance Outreach.

In 2019, she shared her own recovery journey from substance use disorder through dance theatre and began leading workshops to support healing through movement. Her work—whether in schools, on stage, or in communities—has always asked: What does it mean to move through challenge, and come out wiser, softer, stronger?

In 2024, she joined the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) Facilitator in Training Program, where she created “Building Resilience in Education”—a workshop for educators to navigate post-pandemic realities through creative, embodied strategies.

🌍 In 2025, Johari takes this work global—traveling to Uganda to teach movement and storytelling at a rural primary school, and later presenting “Building Resilience in Teacher Education” at the NDEO Conference in Detroit.

✨ Somewhere along this journey, Mrs. Red Fox was born—not as the beginning, but as a vibrant vessel. This clever, tutu-wearing trickster emerged from Johari’s deep well of storytelling, folklore, and embodied pedagogy. Mrs. Red Fox helps children (and grown-ups) move through challenges with rhythm, resilience, and a little mischief.

Artist’s mission statement

"Double Dutch meets Martha Graham, meets African dance, meets…

fitness bio

Johari Mayfield is a dancer, choreographer, activist, healer, and…