THIS IS RISK
We bring the presence of Blackness to the table.
Not a race-based concept. A spectrum of excellence.
A centering of voices that don’t often get centered.
THIS IS RISK, looks forward and back in celebrating four decades of operating at the vanguard of movement and social activism. THIS IS RISK takes the audience through intentional storytelling to the next space of collective brilliance. This energetically charged evening includes iconic works by Founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, which feature live music including the return of Shelter, a full performance of Batty Moves last performed in 2002, and a new commission, Contemplations on Legacy, by long-time UBW collaborator and choreographer Vincent E. Thomas.
ON TOUR
October 17, 2026
Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s (TPAC)
Polk Theater
Nashville, TN
TICKETS
October 23, 2026
Buckman Performing Arts Center
Memphis, TN
TICKETS
January 31, 2027
Ramapo College of New Jersey’s
Sharp Theater — Berrie Center for the Arts
Mahwah, NJ
TICKETS
“…through every piece, Urban Bush Women adamantly invoked and celebrated the African Diaspora — traditions and ancestral memory that shape present-day realities and collective futures.”
— Oregon Artswatch
Engaging with the past requires risk.
Embracing the present requires risk.
Unleashing the future requires risk.
Urban Bush Women
THIS IS RISK
Photo Credits: Kirk Richard Smith, and Stephen Cohen Photography