Andrea E. Woods Valdés, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Dance and Related Faculty, Arts of the Moving Image
In my work, I use dance as contemporary folklore. Everyone has a story to tell. The presence of Black women in America offers a rich and valuable landscape to explore. As a former dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, my creative process is strongly linked to identity and representation. My research is equally physical, creative, and scholarly. My research focus is on building Black audiences for Black Women's creative work, mentoring young and new teachers in African Diaspora dance forms, and developing intergenerational and interdisciplinary performance and practice opportunities. My areas of interest include women in the arts, Afro-Cuban dance/music, African Diaspora history/culture through performance, and Dance for the Camera. I focus on intra-cultural, interdisciplinary activities and dialogues that happen between Black women artists beyond the boundaries of national and political identities. My creative process explores the intersections between dance, live music, and writing as my own brand of performed folklore. SOULOWORKS/Andrea E. Woods & Dancers is the vehicle for the performance work I create. Calabasa Calabasa: Dancing and Making the Music of Life is a multilingual dance/music/vocal performance group I created to explore interdisciplinary African Diaspora practices and social justice. www.souloworks.com/calabasa. I developed wimmin@work as a creative hub where performances, classes, and scholarship are developed to support women's creative contributions to our communities. In addition, I participated in developing a choreographic collective of Black women artists in the Durham area to support and nurture the creative process and cultural identity. Edit
| Office Location: | 2020 Campus Dr., Suite 209C, Durham, NC 27705 |
| Office Phone: | (919) 660-3358 |
| Email Address: |   |
| Web Page: | http://www.souloworks.com |
Teaching (Spring 2024):
- DANCE 801S.01, CHOREOGRAPHIC PRAXIS II
Synopsis
- Ark 101, Th 10:20 AM-12:50 PM
- DANCE 412.01, PERFORMANCE: MODERN
Synopsis
- Rubenstein 224, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM
- DANCE 710L.01L, MOVEMENT RESEARCH I
Synopsis
- Ark 001, Th 10:20 AM-12:50 PM
- DANCE 810L.01L, MOVEMENT RESEARCH II
Synopsis
- Ark 001, Th 10:20 AM-12:50 PM
- Education:
Ph.D. Texas Woman's University 2023 Master of Arts in Humanities University at Buffalo 2009 M.F.A. Ohio State University 1999 B.A. Adelphi University 1986
- Specialties:
-
Technique
Choreography
- Research Interests: Afro-Cuban dance/music, women in the arts, African Diaspora history/culture, Dance for the Camera
- Recent Publications
(More Publications)
- A.E. Woods Valdés, Pushing Back: Bill T. Jones & Anne Bogart Combine Forces to Reimagine The Rite of Spring, edited by Bernadine Jennings, Attitude: The Dancers' Magazine, vol. 25 no. 4 (Spring, 2013), pp. 77-87, Dance Giant Steps [com] .
- A.E. Woods Valdés, Sacred Survival: Orisha Dance and the Ring Shout, Performative Symbols of African Retentions in the New World, edited by Bernadine Jennings, Attitude: The Dancers' Magazine, vol. 25 no. 1 (Spring, 2012), pp. 11-17, Dance Giant Steps .
- A.E. Woods Valdés and Dr. Joan Francisco Valdés Santos, Saturday at the Rumba: A Photo Essay, Winter 2011, edited by Bernadine Jennings, Attitude: The Dancer's Magazine, vol. 24 (Winter, 2011), Dance Giant Steps [abs].
- A.E. Woods Valdés, Nanigi on the Horizon: Garifuna Settlement Day in Dangriga Belize, edited by Bernadine Jennings, Attitude: The Dancer's Magazine, vol. 23 no. 4 (Winter, 2010), pp. 65, Dance Giant Steps [openurl] [abs].
- A.E. Woods Valdés, The Presence of the Past: Reveling the Eloquence of Dancer Matt Turney, edited by Bernadine Jennings, Attitude: The Dancer's Magazine, vol. 24 no. 2 (Summer, 2010), pp. 61, Dance Giant Steps [openurl] [abs].