Founder Timeline
2022
Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. The award is given to artists who have made “an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world” and to people’s “understanding and enjoyment of life.”
APAP Award of Merit for Achievement in the Performing Arts. Awarded to an individual, group or ensemble whose genius, energy, and excellence have defined or redefined an art form for today's audiences.
2021
2021 MacArthur Fellow. Awarding unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.
Dance Teacher Award of Distinction. Previously known as the Lifetime Achievement Award.
BAM Gala 2021 Honoree. This honor recognizes the indelible contributions to the performing arts.
Live Arts Miami A.I.R. Dance Festival Honoree. Honoring the decades-long work in pursuit of equity, social justice, and empowerment for Black and Indigenous people of color, centering issues of fairness, gender, health, ecology, sustainability, and restoration through the transformative creative practice of expressive movement and dance.
National Guild’s 2019 Leadership Award at the Conference for Community Arts Education in Austin, TX. This award recognizes Jawole’s innovative work to promote leadership, equity, and social justice through dance and cultural expression.
2019
American Conference on Diversity Performing Arts Humanitarian Award
Danspace Project Rebel Angel Award
Dancewave Gala Honoree
2018
Dance/USA Honor Award. The Honor goes to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the dance field by reason of artistic excellence and/or force of vision.
Bessie Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award. For forming Urban Bush Women in 1984 and bringing to the stage a complex, bold, and affirming vision of African-American women. For transforming and diversifying the field by developing new ways of training, curating, connecting, and lifting up choreographers of color.
Honorary Doctorate. Bestowed by Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.
2017
2016
Dance/USA Honor Award. The Honor goes to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the dance field by reason of artistic excellence and/or force of vision.
2015
Dance Magazine Award. The award recognizes outstanding men and women whose contributions have let a lasting impact on dance.
Honorary Doctorate. Bestowed by Tufts University in Boston.
2014
Meadows Prize. Awarded to pioneering artists and scholars who are active in a discipline represented by one of the academic units within The Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University.
2013
Arthur L. Johnson Memorial award. Awarded for work geared toward building diversity in the arts.
Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Awarded to twenty of America’s most vital artists working in the fields of contemporary dance, jazz and theatre.
2012
Otto René Castillo Award for Political Theatre. Recognizes and supports theatre companies and artists that use their stages and talents to make positive and humane social, political, moral, philosophical and aesthetic statements.
2011
Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Dance. The highest honor bestowed by the FSU faculty on one of its own.
2009
The White House. Jawole was invited to participate in a meeting the White House convened on using creative and collaborative approaches to community-building and civic engagement.
Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Presented for choreography.
FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance. Presented by 651 Arts, Jawole was featured as a leading influential dancer/choreographer on a program that included her mentor Dianne McIntyre, her collaborator Germaine Acogny, Carmen de Lavallade and Bebe Miller.
2008
United States Artists Wynn Fellow. Awarded for diversifying the discipline’s field of vision.
2006
New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie). Presented for her work as choreographer/creator of Walking With Pearl…Southern Diaries.
2005
The Kennedy Center. Selected as Master of African American Choreography.
2002
Honorary doctorate. Bestowed by Columbia College in Chicago.
PBS Documentary “Free to Dance.” Featured in this film which chronicles the African American influence on modern dance.
2001
THE 40 YEAR LIFE DANCE OF UBW
Interested in viewing UBW archives? Click HERE to submit an archive research request.
2023
World premiere of Haint Blu (Site-responsive). Conceived, choreographed, and directed Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, Co-Artistic Directors.
2022
The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowship supports UBW three year apprenticeship program. UBW welcomed four apprentices: Kentoria Earle, Ziiomi Law, Makeda-Lily Love-Roney, and Shayla Taylor
UBW launches the Choreographic Center Initiative Producing Program (CCI 2.0) with inaugural fellows: Morgan Johnson, Pia Murray, Stephanie Rolland, and Cheri L. Stokes.
UBW returns to touring with the premiere of Haint Blu: Proscenium Version
UBW holds 2022 Summer Leadership Institute: “Are We Democracy?” This is the first in person SLI since 2019.
UBW begins the creation and development of Haint Blu
UBW returns to the performance stage after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at the 2021 Huntington Arts Festival.
UBW receives $3M gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. To Black Women-Led Organizations... The Great Work Continues
UBW holds the first Virtual Generative Dancer Workshop.
UBW honored at the Live Arts Miami Artistry in Rhythm (A.I.R.) Dance Conference.
2021
UBW is named one of America’s Cultural Treasures by the Ford Foundation
UBW’s first-ever Virtual SLI & BOLD Alumni Convening themed Gathering Our Stories, Strengthening Our Networks. In partnership with Junebug Productions and the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), sponsored by Crux.
Launch of UBW’s online Artist Journal and virtual performances.
UBW joins Park Avenue Armory and National Black Theatre for the 100 Years | 100 Women Initiative. This initiative included the February 2020 Symposium: Culture in a Changing America at Park Avenue Armory, and Celebration of Commissions Virtual Watch Party. Explore the 100 Years | 100 Women Project Archive.
UBW is the featured dance company to perform at Town Hall’s Inaugural Lena Horne Prize honoring Solange Knowles.
2020
2019
UBW New Artistic Directors announced. Mame Diarra Speis and Chanon Judson named as Co-Artistic Directors of UBW Touring Company. Courtney Cook and returning company member Love Muwwakkil are promoted to Co-Rehearsal Directors
UBW celebrates its 35th Anniversary with Homecoming in Brooklyn, NY
Launch of UBW Homecoming Fund
2019 Summer Leader Institute (SLI): When Black Women(+) Prevail, We All Prevail, generates the largest number of SLI participants, since the first SLI in 1997
UBW announces the 2019 - 2020 CCI Fellowship Candidates: Jenn Freeman | Po’Chop, nia love, and Kesha McKey
2018
UBW launches website redesign
Inaugural group of UBW Choreographic Center Initiative (CCI) Choreographic Fellowship Candidates become Fellows
2017
Premiere of Hair & Other Stories. Choreographed by Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis with The Company.
Launch of the UBW CCI Choreographic Fellowship Program
2016
UBW Choreographic Center Initiative (CCI) is launched
2015
UBW celebrated our 30 year anniversary with our friends at the Anniversary Gala at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
Premiere of Walking with 'Trane Side A & B Choreographed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Mame Diarra Speis.
2014
Premiere of Dark swan
2012
Blood Muscle Bone, UBW's collaboration with Liz Lerman in progress
2011
Visible Premiere
BOLD launched as formal education and community engagement
2010
UBW tours South America in March as one of three American companies selected to inaugurate DanceMotion USA, a cultural diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs produced by BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music).
Zollar: Uncensored, 25th anniversary premiere
2009
Jawole is invited to a White House convening for innovative, grassroots leaders building community and is named a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
To celebrate and recognize its 25 year anniversary season, UBW launches Being Bushified, its monthly programming series held in the Great Room in its Brooklyn headquarters.
2008
Jawole is named a United States Artist Wynn Fellow.
2006
Jawole is awarded a Bessie for her work as choreographer/creator of Walking with Pearl…Southern Diaries.
2005
Jawole completes Walking with Pearl…Southern Diaries, which follows 2004’s Walking with Pearl…Africa Diaries, both of which pay tribute to the legendary choreographer, educator and social activist, Pearl Primus.
2004
Premiere of Walking with Pearl…Africa Diaries at Columbia College Dance Center
The first Brooklyn Summer Leadership Institute is held. Participants co-create a piece called Are We Democracy?
2003
UBW begins a summer camp partnership with the Brooklyn YWCA
2002
UBW’s Hair Parties project receives funding to promote arts-based civic dialogue, which prompts Jawole to initiate discussion of UBW’s core values.
2000
UBW moves to Brooklyn to be more fully connected to an African American community.
1998
Hands Singing Song is commissioned by American Dance Festival.
The company is awarded a Doris Duke Award for New Work from the American Dance Festival.
1997-99
Jawole develops the Institute entitled “A New Dancer for A New Society” in tribute to W.E.B. Dubois. It is the first of its kind in the dance industry.
1995
The idea for the UBW Summer Leadership Institute emerges from problems encountered regarding our community engagement work in Miami.
1992
Shelter is set on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and becomes a staple in the company’s repertory. UBW incorporates as a non-profit and is awarded the New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”).
The first community engagement project takes place in New Orleans.
1990
Praise House premieres at the Spoleto Festival with previews at Atlanta Black Arts Festival.
1989
Jawole spends a month in New Orleans and creates I Don’t Know But I’ve Been Told If You Keep On Dancin’ You Never Grow Old, a tribute to popular and vernacular dance traditions within the African American community.
1988
Heat premieres
Shelter premieres (an adaptation of Heat)
Lipstick premieres (an adaptation of Heat)
LifeDance II – the Papess…mirror in the waters premieres (excerpt from Heat)
Shelter becomes known as a signature work and identifies UBW as a company that creates works around issues of social justice.
1985
UBW shares a stage with Sweet Honey in the Rock and discovers the women’s community is embracing its work.
1984
On June 30th, Urban Bush Women premieres in New York City self-presented by Jawole.