Urban Bush Women 40th Anniversary: This is Risk

Urban Bush Women (UBW) burst onto the dance scene in 1984 with bold, innovative, demanding, and exciting works that brought under-told stories to life. Originally founded by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, the company, now under the co-artistic direction of Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Spies, continues to weave contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of the African Diaspora.

A centerpiece of Urban Bush Women’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, This is Risk looks forward and back in celebrating four decades of operating at the vanguard of movement and social activism. At the ICA, Urban Bush Women will perform an evening of iconic works celebrating the Company’s 40-year history including Visibility, Batty Moves, Blues Medicine, and Shelter and will feature live music performed by Grace Galu Kalambay and Lucianna Padmore. This is Risk takes the audience through intentional storytelling to the next space of collective brilliance.

Following Saturday’s performance, members of Urban Bush Women will join Grisha Coleman for a post-performance conversation. Coleman is Professor of Movement, Computation, and Digital Media at Northeastern University and a former member of Urban Bush Women.

Read the digital program

Also, catch the Urban Bush Women leading an all-levels movement workshop at Dance Complex on March 19! Learn more