About Amy J:
“Lambert uses positive, funny absurdity to affirm our creative ability to disrupt norms and create new connections.”
Interviews & Published Writing:
DANCECRUSH SPOTLIGHT: Amy J Lambert;
Feature/Interview with SeattleDances (2019)
Amy J Lambert on isolation, marimba and fitting in; Interview with CityArts (2018)
The Things That Matter in Life (Are Useless); Stance: Journal of Choreographic Culture (2018)
Real Talk with Amy J; Interview with SeattleDances (2015)
Preview: The Eternal Glow of Electric Hearts; Interview with SeattleDances (2012)
Illustration by Tom DesLongchamp
Amy J Lambert (Johnson) has been dancing in her living room, her car, and while walking down the street since age 3. You may remember her from her memorable performance as ‘Snow Flurry #6’ in the Vancouver Dance Theater’s production of The Nutcracker.
Lambert is an award-winning, Seattle-based dance artist who playfully choreographs and directs in the realms of musical theater and concert dance. She obtained her BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts and has been an active dance maker, producer, and educator ever since. She is currently the artistic director and choreographer for AJnC Dance-Theater, which presents whimsical and engaging works often based on literature and historical research. AJnC’s latest full-length production, Young Manic/ I Wanted to Be on Broadway (2018), received critical acclaim as both “an entertaining comedy and a sustained reflection on the role of comic performance art in our time.” (Deconstruct) Lambert was recently honored with a DanceCrush award from SeattleDances, for her “use of humor in choreography” in her work as a whole and specifically in Young Manic.
Lambert also collaborates extensively. Most recently she worked with choreographer Markeith Wiley on A Savage Journey, a performance trilogy based on the work of Hunter S. Thompson; and was a collaborator in the multi-disciplinary collective The Eternal Glow Project led by Tim Smith-Stewart. Her collaborative work with Taryn Collis and Sean Tomerlin, Block Time, was awarded Artist Trust’s Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) in 2017.
Lambert’s choreography has been presented at Velocity Dance Center (Bridge Project, Fall Kick-Off), On the Boards (12 Minutes Max), Seattle International Dance Festival, BOOST Dance Festival, The Slate Theater, Centerstage Theatre, Musicircus at Town Hall Seattle, Men In Dance Festival, and Out of Sight, a contemporary visual and performance art festival.
As a dance educator, Lambert is on the Arts Faculty at Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is also a member of the National Dance Education Organization. Lambert also teaches weekly technique classes for the Seattle dance community at eXit Space and Velocity Dance Center. She has been a guest teacher in Alaska and Idaho.
She has had the pleasure of working with and performing works by Merce Cunningham, Robert Battle/Battleworks, Tonya Lockyer, Daniel Linehan, Amy O’Neal, Markeith Wiley, Maya Soto, Deborah Wolf, Tim Smith-Stewart, Molly Sides, Dylan Ward, and Marlo Martin, among others.
Lambert is an Artist-in-Residence at The Nest / eXit Space School of Dance and creates her work with the generous support of donors.
“Lambert...creates works that masterfully blend the beautiful physicality of dance and the playful absurdity of theater. ”
“...funny, engaging, and worthwhile was not merely the use of odd tricks or beautiful technique…”
“Those exhausted from the banality of the everyday found catharsis at the Slate Theater last weekend, losing themselves in the unhinged theatrical dance work Savage Summer. The truly convention-weary may have even found some commonalities with the main characters, who operate entirely outside the realm of ‘normal.’”
“Lambert’s deranged antics are especially funny, [...] keeping her delightfully unpredictable.
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“Johnson, who has proved to be an intellectual, text-driven creator, choreographed just that: the physical manifestation of a dream world, and one that spun history and modernity into a commentary on proletarian tedium and the tragic comedy of contemporary life.”
“The clean execution of the choreography was a testament to the performers, but also to Johnson; she has a knack for making her dancers truly move together.”
“Johnson’s choreography brought a necessary element of humanity to the piece...felt honest, and deepened the work considerably.
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