Entity Contemporary Dance was founded in 2009 by choreographers Will Johnston, Marissa Osato, and Elm Pizarro with the intent to forge connections between the Southern California hip hop and contemporary dance communities. Based in Los Angeles and directed by Will Johnston and Marissa Osato, Entity Contemporary Dance is a professional contemporary dance company that interweaves modern, jazz, and hip hop dance techniques to explore the nuances of emotionality and intercultural connectivity. Comprised of working professionals in LA’s commercial dance industry, Entity creates live stage, site-specific, and film/TV work that prioritizes rhythm, dynamism, power, and vulnerability. Through its educational outreach programs geared towards young artists and pre-professional students, Entity cultivates connection points to various dance career pathways in performance, choreography, education, and production.
Entity has created five evening length works—"Braxon vs. Oregon" (2014/15: Los Angeles, San Francisco), "PEEL" (2016/17: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong), “Transparent/see” (2019: Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico), “The Spectacular Society” (2019/2020: Los Angeles, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out series *performance canceled due to the pandemic), and “seed” (2022: Los Angeles), in addition to performing in numerous festivals, galas, and industry showcases. After winning the 2017 Capezio A.C.E. Awards grand prize, Entity premiered its evening length work “Transparent/see” in Los Angeles and Asia and set excerpts of the work at University at Buffalo Department of Theatre and Dance in New York. In 2021, Entity premiered “EntityFeatures”—a series of movement films created by company directors, members, and guest artists—at a live screening and performance event at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo.
Entity has performed and taught workshops across the U.S., Mexico, Asia, and Australia, and hosts bi-weekly open company classes as well as annual Summer and Winter Intensives in Los Angeles and New York. Entity was a company-in-residence at Edge Performing Arts Center from 2016-2020, is currently a resident company at Stomping Ground L.A. and facilitates an ongoing creative partnership with the JACCC - Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. Entity Contemporary Dance will premiere “seed”–a new evening length collaborative performance with projection and ikebana artists at the JACCC - JULY 20-21, 2023.