THIS IS RISK, looks forward and back in celebrating four decades of operating at the vanguard of movement and social activism. THIS IS RISK takes the audience through intentional storytelling to the next space of collective brilliance. This energetically charged evening includes iconic works by Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, featuring live music, including the return of Shelter, a full performance of Batty Moves, last performed in 2002, and a new commission, Contemplations on Legacy, by long-time UBW collaborator and choreographer Vincent E. Thomas.
URBAN BUSH WOMEN (UBW) is a groundbreaking Black women-led theatrical dance company and an agent for social change. Founded in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, UBW is an engine and amplifier for the stories of Black Women+. UBW combines radical performance, deep engagement, and ancestral knowledge from the African diaspora into a force that is urgent, forward-looking, and essential. UBW has defied expectations for 40 years. The very bodies of its founding members - Black women of various shapes and sizes - changed the landscape of who could be seen on stage as a dancer. The work placed the concerns of such women center stage. UBW embraces radical storytelling to activate societal transformation. Whether creating genre-defying work for the stage, guiding the development of Black Women+ choreographers and producers, organizing for justice through artmaking, UBW is an innovator, operating at the vanguard.
