Urban Jazz Dance Company
Urban Jazz Dance Company represents a fusion of artistic energies where raw energy, rooted in freedom, is articulated through the athletic body and uncontrollable, passionate dance. The company’s mission is to demonstrate that regardless of who you are, your dreams are achievable. Founded in 2007 by pioneering deaf dancer/choreographer Antoine Hunter, Urban Jazz Dance Company (deaf lead business) is comprised of a mix of professional deaf and hearing dancers.
UJDC’s mission is to offer opportunities for deaf and disabled artists to make contributions to the arts and broader society, enhancing awareness around deaf issues through the performing arts. Embracing the syncopation of urban jazz rhythms, the company underscores the significance of play and performance in bridging cultures of all races, ages, abilities, and backgrounds. UJD performs across the Bay Area and beyond, including at festivals such as at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Black Choreographers Festival, CubaCaribe Festival, Art and Soul Festival, DeafNation, Disneyland Disney’s Signin’ in the Street, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Green Show, and the Ethnic Dance Festival. Its programs captivate both deaf and hearing audiences. UJD is also the producer of the annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival and regards deafness as a human experience with its own values, principles, and cultural norms.
Scheduled Workshops
ASL and Dance Fun with Families: Fire and Ice
Join award winning Black Deaf Disabled Two-Spirit led Urban Jazz Dance Company as they lead American Sign Language dance interactivity with families. This workshop will teach ASL and be fully inclusive for Deaf parents with hearing children and Deaf children with hearing parents and Deaf families, as well as hearing children and parents. Promoting full embodied movement and connection and bridging between the hearing and deaf communities. Don’t miss this workshop and get down with us!
Ask Me Anything: Deaf Culture 101
Join two Deaf women from San Francisco as they share their Deaf culture and how to be a better ally to the Deaf and Disabled communities. Learn do’s and don’ts and a taste of American Sign Language. Most of all, learn that Deaf people have been here, and will be here forever.
