Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Performing Arts Center will present Urban Bush Women Jan. 23 and 24 at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre. Urban Bush Women is celebrating its 30th anniversary as one of America’s premier dance companies exploring the African-American experience.
Urban Bush Women was founded in 1984 by dancer and choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar as a performance ensemble dedicated to using cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. The company presents bold and innovative works that weave contemporary dance, music and text with the history, culture and spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora.
Under Zollar’s artistic direction, the group performs regularly in New York City and tours nationally and internationally. The company has been honored with a New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”), the Capezio Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance and two Doris Duke Awards for New Work from the American Dance Festival. In March 2010, the group toured South America as part of DanceMotion USA, 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 Performing Arts Center is also sponsoring an educational residency with Urban Bush Women in conjunction with the Fine Arts Theatre performances. The company will offer outreach and educational programs for students in the UGA dance department, East Athens Educational Dance Center and Cedar Shoals High School.
Tickets for the Urban Bush Women performances are $40 and $45 and are discounted for UGA students. Tickets can be purchased at the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400 or toll free at 888-289-8497.
The performance and residency activities are funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia Council for the Arts.