Urban Bush Women, opening performance at FAST FORWARD: Imagining the Future, ISPA's 62nd Annual Congress, in New York City on January 12-14, 2010.  View the full Schedule of Events.

Urban Bush Women

Founded in 1984 by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women (UBW) is a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. It weaves contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African Diaspora, exploring the transformation of struggle and suffering into the bittersweet joy of survival. The company engages in extensive community-based programming, encouraging cultural activity as an inherent part of community life. In training young artists, UBW gives equal consideration to an artist’s creative and socio-cultural concerns.

UBW performs annually in New York City and has toured the United States, Canada, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America.  In 2009 UBW was one of three American companies selected to tour South America in March 2010 as part of DanceMotion USAsm, a cultural diplomacy initiative spearheaded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  The Company has been commissioned by presenters nationwide and includes among its honors Doris Duke Awards in 2004 and 1998 for New Work from the American Dance Festival; the Capezio Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 1994; and the New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”) in 1992.   As part of its mission to create dance and create community, UBW presents annual workshops, lecture demonstrations and long-term residencies, partnering with local presenters, area artists and community residents to bring the histories of their communities forward through performance.