American Cultural Treasure Urban Bush Women Dance Company Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

NEW YORK - Feb. 22, 2024 - PRLog -- As part of its multifaceted 40th Anniversary celebration and 2024 season launch, the award-winning Urban Bush Women (UBW), a Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble, presents the Legacy + Lineage + Liberation tour. Held across multiple cities, these performances will explore issues of equity, justice, and identity with iconic works by UBW founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and new pieces by artistic directors Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis.

Celebrating the power of Black Women+, UBW kicks off its 2024 season during Black History Month with Legacy + Lineage + Liberation, an anthology of performances that will tour seven cities from February through April 2024, including Boone, NC; Purchase, NY; Buffalo, NY; Tucson, AZ; Fort Collins, CO; Denver, CO; and Los Angeles, CA.The tour includes workshops from the organization's signature community engagement program, BOLD (Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance). Its activities are influenced by UBW's other signature programs, including the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), and Choreographic Center Initiative Producing Program (CCI 2.0) intensive training. UBW's anniversary celebration is made possible through the generous support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and several anonymous supporters.

Zollar states, "UBW's work and vision have been born from the practices, learnings, and wisdom of the work in the studio and community. It is exciting to see a new generation of leadership take this legacy work and fashion a compelling vision unique to their work and generation. Keep on keeping on...and to another generation and another generation and another generation."

Judson states, "After having performed with UBW for many years, I am honored to accept my new role as Artistic Director and build on four decades of groundbreaking work. We are powerfully here. Looking to the next forty years, Urban Bush Women's approach to producing immersive art-making and experiential community practices looks to collaboration across the intersection of art, fashion, and new media to continue the paradigm shifts in a world that craves collective transformation and social change."

Diarra Speis states, "Celebrating UBW's forty years and having recently accepted my new role as Artistic Director at a Black woman-led organization is a testament to the dedication and determination of those in circle with Urban Bush Women. Dating back to the 80s and 90s, our ensemble has been the barrier conduit in the sharing of legacy, culture, and futuring. We've held history and education through storytelling and the celebration of the many people that have been a part of UBW. That rich soil is an interconnection of performers, people, and artists who are aligned with the values."

Incorporating UBW's unique blend of musicality and movement, the program features live accompaniment by percussionist Lucianna Padmore and guitarist/singer Grace Galu Kalambay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XzrH7SnTpg



For more information, please visit https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/engagements. For additional press materials, including bios, b-roll, and photos, contact Makeda Smith, UBW Marketing Manager (718) 398-4537 info@urbanbushwomen.org.

All programming is subject to change.

ABOUT URBAN BUSH WOMEN
URBAN BUSH WOMEN is a groundbreaking Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble. Founded in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, UBW is an engine and amplifier for the stories of Black Women+. Now directed by artistic leaders Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, UBW combines radical performance, deep engagement, and ancestral knowledge from the African diaspora into a force that is urgent, forward-looking, and essential.