About

URBAN BUSH WOMEN (UBW) is a groundbreaking Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble founded in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Through its mission of engaging with artists, activists, audiences, and communities through performances, artist development, education, and community engagement, the award-winning nonprofit has performed throughout the United States, as well as Asia, Australia, Canada, Germany, South America, Europe and Senegal (in collaboration with Germaine Acogny and her all-male Compagnie JANT-BI). UBW has been an engine and amplifier for the stories of Black Women+ for forty years. 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 providing platforms and serving as a conduit for experimental art makers. Signature programs run by UBW include the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), BOLD (Builders, Organizers & Leaders through Dance) and the Choreographic Center Initiative. UBW combines radical performance, deep engagement, and ancestral knowledge from the African diaspora into a force that is urgent, forward-looking, and essential.

UBW’s core creative output is powered by arts and activism. The UBW Company creates, performs, and tours dance; the Summer Leadership Institute and the Choreographic Center Initiative provide essential training and mentorship to dancers and adjacent culture makers; and the BOLD workshops provide Builders, Organizers, and Leaders-through-Dance with skills for self-inquiry and movement. The creator of more than 40 pioneering works, UBW has appeared on major stages across the nation and around the world. In 2010, the U.S. State Department selected UBW as one of only three dance companies to launch its cultural exchange program. In 2021, UBW was hailed by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott as one of the Teams Empowering Voices the World Needs to Hear, and by the Ford Foundation as one of America’s Cultural Treasures. UBW is proud to serve a great mix of audiences, especially underserved Black communities, whose presence enriches the art form, the field, and the culture. urbanbushwomen.org