Organizations Filed Purposes:
FOUNDED IN 1984 BY CHOREOGRAPHER JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, URBAN BUSH WOMEN (UBW) SEEKS TO BRING THE UNTOLD AND UNDER-TOLD HISTORIES AND STORIES OF DISENFRANCHISED PEOPLE TO LIGHT THROUGH DANCE. WE DO THIS FROM A WOMAN-CENTERED PERSPECTIVE AND AS MEMBERS OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO CREATE A MORE EQUITABLE BALANCE OF POWER IN THE DANCE WORLD AND BEYOND. WE DO THIS BY FACILITATING THE USE OF ART AS A MEANS OF ADDRESSING ISSUES OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENCOURAGING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.
CHOREOGRAPHER JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR FOUNDED URBAN BUSH WOMEN (UBW) IN 1984 AS A PERFORMANCE ENSEMBLE DEDICATED TO EXPLORING THE USE OF CULTURAL EXPRESSION AS A CATALYST FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. UBW WEAVES CONTEMPORARY DANCE, MUSIC AND TEXT WITH THE HISTORY, CULTURE, AND SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. UBW'S ARTISTIC WORK IS UNIQUE AND REQUESTED AROUND THE WORLD. UBW HAS A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO CHOREOGRAPHY AND PERFORMANCE AND WORKS WITH AN IMPRESSIVE LIST OF COLLABORATORS FROM THE WORLDS OF DANCE, MUSIC AND LITERATURE. IN FY2019, THE COMPANY SHOWCASED "HAIR AND OTHER STORIES," CHOREOGRAPHED BY SAMANTHA SPEIS AND CHANON JUDSON IN COLLABORATION WITH THE COMPANY.UBW TOURS ITS RENOWNED AND AWARDED REPERTORY WORKS THROUGHOUT THE US AND INTERNATIONALLY. OVER ITS 35-YEAR HISTORY, THE COMPANY HAS TOURED FIVE CONTINENTS AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. DURING FY2019, THE COMPANY TOURED COAST-TO-COAST, TO CALIFORNIA, GEORGIA, ILLINOIS, IOWA, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW YORK STATE, NORTH CAROLINA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.URBAN BUSH WOMEN B.O.L.D.-BUILDERS, ORGANIZERS AND LEADERS THROUGH DANCE-IS THE UMBRELLA THAT COVERS THE COMPANY'S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING. WITHIN B.O.L.D., THE CURRENT AND FORMER COMPANY MEMBERS TRAINED IN FACILITATION TECHNIQUES LEAD MOVEMENT WORKSHOPS AND EXPERIENTIAL DIALOGUES IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES TO FOSTER LEADERSHIP, BUILD COMMUNITY, ORGANIZE FOR EQUITY, AND CREATE AN EXAMPLE OF ART AND CREATIVITY. WHILE URBAN BUSH WOMEN HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN THIS KIND OF WORK FOR MOST OF ITS 34-YEAR HISTORY, THESE ACTIVITIES WERE FORMALIZED UNDER THE B.O.L.D. UMBRELLA IN 2012.THE FLAGSHIP PROGRAM SERVING UBW'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MISSION IS THE SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE, A 10-DAY TRAINING FORUM THAT CONNECTS ARTS AND DANCE PROFESSIONALS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ACTIVISTS AND ORGANIZERS IN A LEARNING EXPERIENCE TO LEVERAGE THE USE OF THE ARTS AS A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL ACTIVISM AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND TO STRENGTHEN THE NATIONAL NETWORK OF COMMUNITY ARTS PRACTITIONERS. IT BEGAN IN TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA IN 1997 AND WAS RE-LAUNCHED IN BROOKLYN IN 2004. SINCE 2009, THE SLI HAS BEEN HELD IN NEW ORLEANS, NEW YORK CITY AND TEMPE, AZ. UBW LAUNCHED THE CHOREOGRAPHIC CENTER INITIATIVE (CCI) IN JANUARY 2016. THE CCI SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN CHOREOGRAPHERS OF COLOR AND OTHER UNDER HEARD VOICES AT EVERY STAGE OF THEIR CAREER. PROGRAMS INCLUDE THE GENERATIVE DANCER WORKSHOP AND THE TWO-YEAR CHOREOGRAPHIC FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Jawole Willa Jo Zollar | DIRECTOR/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | 40 | $62,654 |
| Tanisha Ross | DIRECTOR(UNTIL 4/24/2019) | 1 | $0 |
| Deborah Brookes | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Alice Sheppard | DIRECTOR(UNTIL 2/13/2019 | 1 | $0 |
| Ngozi Ogbonna | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Mary Jamis | DIRECTOR | 1 | $0 |
| Yvahn Martin | VICE CHAIRMAN | 1 | $0 |
| Jennifer Smith | TREASURER | 1 | $0 |
| Ashly Nikkole Davis | SECRETARY | 1 | $0 |
| Tammy Bormann | CHAIRMAN | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202002279349301225_public.xml