Urban Bush Women: “Hair and Other Stories”

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, artistic director For more than 30 years, choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s company, Urban Bush Women, has given expression to the vitality and boldness of African American women. “Hair and Other Stories” is a multidisciplinary work addressing matters of race, gender identity, and economic inequality in the lives of African American women. The company has made an indelible mark on the field with bold, innovative, demanding, and exciting works that challenge long-held assumptions about women, people of color, body types, movement styles, society, and history. The company weaves contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African diaspora. This program was made possible in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.