Andrea E. Woods Valdés, Associate Professor of the Practice of Dance

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  embodied Black aesthetics and building Black audiences for Black Women's creative work. Through mentoring young and new teachers in African Diaspora dance forms, and developing intergenerational and interdisciplinary performance and practice opportunities I embody and activate my research areas. 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 brand of performance 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 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

Contact Info:

Office Location:	2020 Campus Dr., Suite 209C, Durham, NC 27705
Email Address:
Web Pages:	https://danceprogram.duke.edu/ http://www.souloworks.com

Teaching (Spring 2026):

• DANCE 306S.01, DANCE FOR THE CAMERA Synopsis

  Rubenstein 202, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM

  (also cross-listed as CINE 343S.01, DOCST 242S.01, VMS 345S.01)

• DANCE 706S.01, DANCE FOR THE CAMERA Synopsis

  Rubenstein 202, TuTh 03:05 PM-04:20 PM

  (also cross-listed as MFAEDA 706S.01)

Office Hours:

By appointment
ae.woodsv@duke.edu

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)

1. 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, 137 Montague Street, Suite 303 Brooklyn, NY 11201, ISSN 0882 - 3472 [com]
2. 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, 137 Montague Street, Suite 303 Brooklyn, NY 11201, ISSN 0882 - 3472
3. 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, 93 Montigue St, Suite 303  [abs]
4. 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, 93 Montigue St, Suite 303, ISSN 0882-3472 [openurl]  [abs]
5. 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, 93 Montigue St, Suite 303, ISSN 0882-3472 [openurl]  [abs]