North Jersey School of Dance Arts

Audra Johnson - Purner

A New Jersey native, Audra trained with Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyaeva. As a sophmore in high school Audra auditioned was accepted to the prestigious Harid Conservatory in Boco Raton, Florida. She danced with the Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education, and returned to NJ to accept a contract with the American Repertory Ballet. Since joining ARB, Audra has performed a variety of roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in Graham Lustig's Nutcracker, The Fairy Godmother in Lustig's Cinderella, and featured duets in Twyla Tharp's Octet, Susan Shield's, I Heart Kenji. She has also enjoyed performing in Twyla Tharp's Bakers' Dozen. Before joining ARB, she performed with The Atlanta Ballet, Roxey Ballet, the New Jersey Ballet and as a guest artist for the New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet. She has been a faculty member at NJSDA for five years.

“A Dancer is the Athlete of God.” Albert Einstein