2026 MASTER CLASS & WORKSHOP SERIES
FLOORWORK with
Babatunji Johnson & Charmaine Butcher
Join Oakland-based artists Babatunji & Charmaine for a high-energy floorwork experience that offers an approachable method to integrate breaking based techniques into contemporary practice!
FLOORWORKSHOP w/ Babatunji & CharmaineSat, Mar 14Renton
Workshop Schedule
2:30pm: FREE Informal In-Studio Performance by Babatunji & Charmaine
2:45pm-3:45pm: FLOORWORKSHOP (Dancers ages 10-13)
4:00pm-5:30pm: FLOORWORKSHOP (Pre-Pro dancers ages 14+)
Join Babatunji Johnson and ECB Alum Charmaine Butcher on March 14 for a dynamic floorwork workshop and free in-studio performance. This class provides an approachable method to integrate breaking based techniques into contemporary practice. Participants will learn floor work built from the movement principles of Breaking. Complex movements will be scaled down in order to teach all experience levels how to safely progress into larger and more daring movements in and out of the floor.
Come ready to sweat, explore, and redefine what floorwork can be!
Recommended attire: Pants, long sleeves, and knee pads
ABOUT Babatunji
Babatunji is a dance artist, choreographer, and creative innovator based out of Oakland, CA. Though never formally trained as a child, Babatunji was always moving his body to the beat. At the age of 15, he discovered the art of hip hop. Following this epiphany of love, he grew up through his teens breaking and popping on street corners in Hilo, Hawai’i. After being “discovered” by a local dance instructor, he began his formal training at Center Stage Dance Alliance in various styles of dance, including ballet. This training would inevitably lead him to Lines Ballet’s Training Program, and from there, into LINES Ballet company.
For over a decade he has worked with one of the greatest American choreographers, Alonzo King. Throughout their time together Babatunji originated many roles, including the acclaimed “Lift Every Voice” solo in which he’s been blessed to share the stage with Grammy Award-winning vocalist, Lisa Fischer. As a freelance dancer, Babatunji has worked with Post:ballet, SFDanceworks, tinypistol, Ballare Carmel; as well as performed works by choreographers and artist such as Adji Cissoko, Yue Yin, Danielle Rowe, Brett Conway, Rich and Tone Talauega, David Harvey, and Mike Tyus. Additionally, his work for film includes features in Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs’ Blindspotting on Starz. Most recently he co-starred alongside Misty Copeland in her short art film Flower, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2023. The San Francisco Chronicle profiled Babatunji’s journey from street performance to the big screen.
Over the past 10 years, Babatunji has developed a unique movement language, blending his background in ballet, contemporary, breaking, and hip hop. He has choreographed for Berkeley Ballet Theater, Boston Dance Theater, Post:ballet, Trolley Dance, SFDanceworks, ZiRu Dance, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, among others. As a solo artist, Babatunji has performed internationally, collaborating with visual, sound, and technical artists of countless genres. His work has been seen at Museum of Dance, Lion’s Jaw performance + dance festival, København Danser, and SFJazz in collaboration with Terri Lyne Carrington. In 2015, he was awarded a Princess Grace Award, as well as a Chris Hellman Award for his outstanding achievements and promise in the world of dance. In 2022, Babatunji was featured in Dance Magazine’s “Dancer Spotlight - Making New Movement”.
Babatunji is immensely grateful to his mom for providing him with every opportunity and the guidance of her wisdom along the way.
ABOUT Charmaine Butcher
Charmaine is a dance artist and instructor based out of Oakland, CA. After graduating high school with an Associate's Degree, they continued their training at Alonzo King LINES Ballet's Training Program in San Francisco. Charmaine has worked professionally for various choreographers, including Amy J Lambert, Beth Terwilleger, Cameo Lethem, Chuck Wilt, Dani Rowe, Dwight Rhoden, Robert Moses and performed with Ballet22, Ballare Carmel, Coriolis Dance, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, SFJazz, Smuin Contemporary Ballet, and Verlaine & McCann’s Burlesque Nutcracker. They worked closely with Moscelyne ParkeHarrison throughout 5 seasons dancing with Robin Dekker’s Post:ballet. In 2025, they premiered an original role in Matthew Ozawa’s Parsifal for San Francisco Opera, choreographed by Rena Butler. Charmaine currently dances with Sharp & Fine, BODYSONNET, and frequently collaborates with their partner Babatunji, showing work independently at San Francisco Trolley Dance, RAWdance’s CONCEPT Series, Dance Lovers (SF), Studio 210 Residency, and with Inner Child Foundation. Charmaine is working as a dancer in Babatunji’s Phoenix Paradox (working title) produced by SOZO Media, which will premiere in 2027. Charmaine is also an instructor, teaching rigorous and inspiring contemporary ballet classes as well as breaking based floorwork approaches inspired by their time working with Babatunji. In 2019, Charmaine completed their bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Entrepreneurship. In addition to dancing and teaching movement, Charmaine is a visual artist working in the mediums of floral and clay.
