Dr. Anna Ruth Johnson is a Professional Figure Skater, Coach, Choreographer, and Naturopathic Doctor specializing in Expressive and Movement Arts in health, wellness, and healing. She is the founder and director of Virginia Artistic Skating Company, and the creator of Skate Your Story™.

 

Growing up with severe health problems that doctors had no answer for, Anna embarked on a mission to "heal herself" at age 11 by turning to nutrition and natural health interventions. While her tireless research and self-experimentation helped, nothing she did provided the total healing she so desperately desired, or the healing that should have come if there truly was not anything wrong with her. As she got older and her health problems continued to worsen despite her continued efforts, Anna began finding the most healing of all in her lifelong greatest love and passion, figure skating.

 

After her mysterious health issues were eventually diagnosed as the genetic, terminal illness cystic fibrosis at age 19, skating became a powerful healing agent in Anna’s life, providing a freedom and escape from the difficulty and never-ending complications of living life with chronic illness. 

 

Anna's childhood quest for self-healing ultimately led her to pursue natural health and nutrition in both college and graduate school, and later somatic movement and dance therapy training. She holds her Bachelor of Science in Wellness and Alternative Medicine, her Bachelor Arts in Psychology, her Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, and her Doctorate in Traditional Naturopathy. In skating, Anna is a 4x US Figure Skating Gold Medalist, 2x Inclusive Skating World Champion, American Ice Theatre-Certified Professional Choreographer, and one of seven 2020 Get Up Ambassadors for US Figure Skating. She has extensive training in a wide variety of skating disciplines, including solo and partnered ice dance, free dance, free skating, skating skills (formerly moves in the field), figures, synchronized skating, theatre on ice, and ensemble skating, and has had the privilege of working with renowned coaches including Scott Gregory (2x Olympian, 7x World Team member, Skate America and Skate Canada Dance Champion), Alexandr Kirsanov (Russian National Ice Dance Champion), Karen Ludington (National and International choreographer), Luis Lovett (PSA Master-rated coach and former International Disney on Ice principal skater), Kate McSwain (American Ice Theatre), Garrett Kling (American Ice Theatre), and Lorna Brown (Ice Theatre of New York). Additionally, Anna has 15 years of classical ballet and modern dance training from the Roanoke Ballet Theatre, Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, and the acclaimed Virginia School of the Arts, and has studied under teachers including Keith Lee, Petrus Bosman, Tyrone Brooks, Janelle Eggleston, Michele Goacher, and Barbara Daniszewski (Phillips).

 

In 2025, Anna founded the Virginia Artistic Skating Company, Virginia's first and only non-profit, professional figure skating company, dedicated to promoting individual and community well-being through artistic and expressive figure skating. ​In addition to directing VASC, Anna provides choreography, Skate Your Story™ therapeutic skating mentorship, and technique training to individuals, as well as specialty skating classes for groups and teams across Virginia. 

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