40th Anniversary
We belong to the lineage of Black experimental artists.
We create our own music.
We color way outside the lines.
Now through 2025, Urban Bush Women celebrates 40 years of building community and taking risks that push the culture forward.
We proudly hail four decades of activity with a (very) full calendar of performances, special events, digital content, and opportunities to gather. With these programs and our new UBW Manifesto, we also honor the next wave of leaders who will reinforce and grow UBW's role as a radical force within the national dance ecology and beyond.
Our 40th Anniversary season, THIS IS RISK, fully embraces our community and our work at the vanguard of physical movement and social activism. It is with great excitement that we invite you to join us.
SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar
WORLD PREMIERE
Set in a fictional jazz club, SCAT!... The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar, is a dance-driven musical that tells the love story of two people making their way during the Great Migration. Visit the SCAT webpage for more info.
November 22 - 24, 2024 | WEST COAST PREMIERE
Mark Taper Forum at
The Music Center, Los Angeles, CA
BUY TICKETS
July 17 - 18, 2024
American Dance Festival
Reynolds Industries Theater
Duke West Campus, Durham, NC
June 28 - 30, 2024
Bard SummerScape
Fisher Center at Bard, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
JULY - NOVEMBER 2024
When Black Women+ Speak
An extension of UBW’s CCI 2.0 program, When Black Women+ Speak convenes artistic leaders, producers, and partners to explore the nuances of identity, community, values, and success among women+ of color. Visit the When Black Women+ Speak webpage for more info.
November 13, 2024 | 7 PM
Harlem Stage Gatehouse, Harlem, NY
SOLD OUT
October 16, 2024 | 6 PM
Louis Armstrong House Museum, Queens, NY
July 31, 2024 | 7 PM
David Rubenstein Atrium at
Lincoln Center, New York, NY
May 8, 2024 | 7 PM
Fishman Space at
BAM Fisher, Brooklyn, NY
DECEMBER 6 - 7, 2024
UBW X 92NY:
Solo Meditations
Solo Meditations is an intimate, multi-week residency of solo and duo works from UBW’s expansive repertoire, crafted especially for 92NY. Visit the UBW X 92NY webpage for more info.
December 6, 2024
Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center
New York, NY
BUY TICKETS
December 7, 2024
Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center
New York, NY
BUY TICKETS
September 25, 2024
Brooklyn Commons Park - Brooklyn, NY
Join us for a free event as we continue to celebrate Urban Bush Women’s 40th Anniversary at home in Brooklyn, NY with an afternoon of curated performances showcasing the talent and creativity within the UBW community.
September 25, 2024
Brooklyn Commons Park
Brooklyn, NY
LEARN MORE
Voices from the bush:
ubw on the block
July 26 - AugUST 4, 2024
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts - New York, NY
Urban Bush Women’s 40th Anniversary kicks into high gear with a week-long residency at Lincoln Center’s Third Annual Summer for the City festival! Visit UBW’s webpage for the Lincoln Center Residency.
July 31 & August 4, 2024: Mindful Bodies & Reflective Practices
A workshop focusing on self-care, rejuvenation, and (re)constructing healthful images.
July 31, 2024: When Black Women+ Speak
A new landmark talk series that convenes Women+ of color leaders.
July 28 & August 4, 2024: Haint Blu: Episodic Chapters
Drawn from UBW's site-responsive work, seeped in memory and magic.
July 26 & 28, 2024: Dance for Every Body
Join UBW for a movement jam/dance class.
July 26, 2024: How We Got to the Funk Dance Party
Led by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and the UBW Company
UBW RESIDENCY AT LINCOLN CENTER’S SUMMER FOR THE CITY
MANIFESTO
The UBW Manifesto is composed of 63 three-line stanzas called THE TRIPTYCHS – a series of poetic declarations about who and what Urban Bush Woman is, its unique character and sense of purpose, and its relationship to community. These insights, remixed from singular voices inside that experience, are shared as a statement of values, an invitation, and a course of action.
SuPPORT THE RISK-TAKERS
From our first steps 40 years ago to today and beyond: UBW is a haven for Black Women+ and an incubator for artists, organizers, and thinkers who push the culture forward. Our community is vast and collaborative, multiracial and multi-dimensional, bonded by shared values and a yearning for the future we can build together. Our pledge is to mutual joy and collective action.
If our vision and community speak to you, JOIN US. There is good work ahead and we have great hills to climb.
Funders
Urban Bush Women 40th Anniversary leadership funding is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Additional funding is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Producers
Jonathan D. Secor
Producer; and
Executive Creative Producer, 40th Anniversary
Pia Monique Murray
Associate Producer; 40th Anniversary