Urban Bush Women

Urban Bush Women photo.

Photo by Rick McCollough

2023-2024 Dance Guest Artists

Urban Bush Women will be in residence in spring 2024.

Founded in 1984 by choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women (UBW) galvanizes artists, activists, audiences and communities through performances, artist development, education and community engagement. With the ground-breaking performance ensemble at its core, and ongoing programs including the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), BOLD (Builders, Organizers & Leaders through Dance) and the Choreographic Center Initiative, UBW affects the overall ecology of the arts by promoting artistic legacies; projecting the voices of the under-heard and people of color; bringing attention to and addressing issues of equity in the dance field and throughout the United States; and by serving as a conduit for culturally and socially relevant experimental art makers.

Effective fall 2021, UB Theatre and Dance is honored to welcome Urban Bush Women dance company (UBW) for the first annual UBW Dance Residency. Over a two-week period the company will teach classes and workshops for Department and University students and will develop new work for UBW in the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre. The collaboration between the company, the Department, and the College of Arts and Sciences helps to fulfill an educational priority, giving upcoming student-artists exposure and access to professionals in the field. Sustained engagement will not only expand opportunities for student and faculty research and creative activity, but will also bring a diverse array of artist-scholar-collaborators to interact across the College, University, and Buffalo-at-large. www.urbanbushwomen.org/about-ubw