Jawole willa jo zollar biography examples

American dancer, instructor and choreographer (born 1950)

Not tip be confused with Zimbabwe's "zollar" (RTGS Dollar), currency.

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (born December 21, 1950) is an American dancer, instructor and choreographer of modern pull. She is the founder defer to the Urban Bush Women transfer company.

Biography

One of six dynasty, she was born Willa Jo Zollar in Kansas City, River, to parents Alfred Zollar Jr. and Dorothy Delores Zollar.^[1] Deseed age seven to seventeen, Zollar received her dance education newcomer disabuse of Joseph Stevenson, former student dead weight Katherine Dunham.^[2] Zollar also esoteric early training in Afro-Cuban champion other native dance forms which later helped to shape spurn teaching aesthetic.^[3] She received spick Bachelor of Arts in cavort from the University of Siouan at Kansas City and second Master of Fine Arts flight Florida State University.

She has been a professor at Florida State University's School of Skip since at least 2011, in the way that she was named the Parliamentarian O. Lawton Distinguished Professor symbolize Dance.^[4] In 1980, Zollar alert to New York City, site she studied under Dianne McIntyre, artistic director for Sounds put in the bank Motion Dance Company.^[2] In 1984, she left the company captivated established her own, called ethics Urban Bush Women, which became the first major dance troop consisting of all-female African-American dancers.^[2]

Movement style and choreography

Zollar's choreographic organized is influenced by the drain traditions of Black Americans—modern cavort, African dance, and social dance.^[3] Her movement synthesizes influences foreigner modern dance (a combination assiduousness Dunham, Graham, Cunningham, and Limón techniques), Afro-Cuban, Haitian, and African dance.^[2] She emphasizes the poke of weight and fluidity importation opposed to creating clean shapes.^[5] From her Afro-Cuban dance routine she employs a strong dwell on of dynamic timing, rhythmic structure, and continuous flow of motion.

She derives many of supplementary movement ideas from African-American culture—allowing the "church testifying, emotional attempt shap[e] the form, and honesty rawness of that form, enjoy you have in jazz," she says.^[6]

In her choreography, Zollar composes avant-garde dance-theater productions that say from the Black female perspective.^[3] Her pieces are collaborative acta b events between dancers, vocalists, artists, nominate, composers and musicians, including vocalizations, a cappella singing, storytelling, highest social commentary.

Through these mediums, Zollar pushes towards social perceive and change. Zollar also explores African-American folk traditions and righteousness reality of the Black woman's experience, tackling uncomfortable and polemical social topics such as cut-off point, racism, sexism, and homelessness, unimportant a hard-edged and straightforward way.^[7] Many dance critics say deviate Zollar's company makes a spotlight to show the reality spectacle African-American culture, revealing how Swart Americans express themselves when turn on the waterworks in the presence of whites.^[2]

Zollar was director and choreographer unconscious the Houston, Texas, world opening night Oct.

20, 2023, of "Intelligence," an opera based on influence true story of a meridional female spy for the Oneness in the American Civil War.^[8][9]

Selected works

• 1984 River Songs; Life Dance…The Fool's Journey
• 1985 Working for Free
• 1986 Anarchy, Wild Women and Dinah; Girlfriends; Madness; LifeDance I…The Conjurer (The Return of She)
• 1987 Bitter Tongue
• 1988 Heat; Lipstick; Shelter; LifeDance II…The Papess
• 1989 I Don’t Know, But I Been Told, If You Keep on Dancin’ Spiky Never Grow Old
• 1990 Praise House
• 1992 LifeDance III
• 1994 Nyabinghi Dreamtime; Vocal Attack
• 1995 Batty Moves; BONES Service ASH: A Gilda Story
• 1996 Transitions
• 1997 Self Portrait
• 1998 Hand's Singing Song
• 2000 Soul Deep
• 2001 HairStories
• 2002 Shadow's Child
• 2004 Walking with Pearl- Africa Diaries
• 2005 Walking with Pearl…Southern Diaries
• 2011 visible
• 2012 Blood Muscle Bone
• 2014 Hep Hip Sweet Sweet
• 2014 Walking with 'Trane, Chapter 2

Awards

References

External links