Fjord Review: Dreaming With Jawole Willa Jo Zollar

Written By Urban Bush Women

by Victoria Looseleaf

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar in SCAT!… The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar
Photo by Maria Baranova

Creating Urban Bush Women forty years ago—after having had a dream about her parents—Jawole Willa Jo Zollar may have stepped down as artistic director from the women-centered group dedicated to telling stories of the African diaspora through traditional and modern Africanist dance forms, but she’s busier than ever. Indeed, on the cusp of 74, Zollar is bringing her evening-length work, “Scat!...The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar,” to Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum November 22-24. In its West Coast debut, the work—Zollar’s last for the company—will also be the first-ever dance presentation at the venue.

Urban Bush Women

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.

https://www.urbanbushwomen.org
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