Diversity Artists

Marisa Maza
Spring 2006
Maza is an internationally renowned visual artist who works in the field of video and photography. She holds an M.A. in Fine Arts from the Facultad de Bellas Artes at the Complutense University Madrid (1988) and completed her postgraduate studies in the field of Fine Arts and Media Studies at the Fine Arts University of Berlin (Hochschule der Künste Berlin, 1999).

Before coming to the University of Florida, Maza taught and worked at the Fine Arts University of Berlin where she also was selected for a Mentoring Professorship program under the supervision of Prof. Katharina Sieverding. Maza is the recipient of numerous grants and prizes including the studio prize of the Karl Hofer Society (2005) as well as a stipend for artistic research in South Africa, Tanzania and New York by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD-NaFöG).

Since the early 90s, questions of the concept of identity and identity politics, as well as its medial, cultural, social, and political representation are the focus of Marisa Maza’s artistic work. Specifically the human body and typologies of real, fictional and/or simulated (urban) landscapes are thematized as (metaphorical) systems for the inscription of sociopolitical conditions.

In general Maza’s specific and conscious use of the forms of video installation and photography is a critical reflection on the limits of formats of media representation, art-historically relevant image production such as painting, as well as the production, distribution and reception of mass-media images.

Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
Spring 2006
The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble is more than a company of dancers. Hailing from the Nrityagram residental dance school in Bangalore, India, the ensemble has performed for audiences around the world. The group represents "a space where dancers, musicians and choreographers live together for years, developing their ideas, perfecting their technique and complementing their learning of dance with a knowledge of mythology and the epics, Sanskrit, yoga, meditation and the martial arts." Nrityagram conducted a masterclass and performed to a packed house at the Phillips Center during their stay in March/April of 2006.

Faustin Linyekula and Les Studios Kabako
Fall 2005
After spending eight years in exile from 1993-2001, Faustin Linyekula returned to his native Congo founding Les Studios Kabako, the only center for contemporary dance in Kinshasa. Linyekula has since emerged as one of the foremost choreographers of new African dance. His work has received numerous awards, and he has been invited to participate in residencies throughout Europe. Linyekula and Kabako's September 9, 2005 performance at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts marked their North American debut.

Beatrice Kombe and Tchétché
2002
The dance company Tchétché was created in 1997 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and is known for its contemporary, youthful approach to African dance. With a commitment to explore and expand upon the roots of African performing arts, Tchétché is one of the most energetic and ambitious dance company in West Africa.

Pandit Jasraj
2002
Born into a family that has produced four generations of outstanding Indian classical musicians, Pandit Jasraj had his initial grooming in music under his father, the late Pandit Motiramji. He then underwent intensive tutelage under his elder brother and guru, the late Sangeet Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Maniramji. Endowed with a rich and soulful voice, Pandit’s performances are characterized by a harmonious blend of classic and opulent elements.

Shapiro & Smith Dance
2001
Founded in 1985, the Shapiro & Smith Dance is a collaboration between Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith. The unique combination of contemporary dance and dramatic theater has elicited enthusiastic receptions across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Canada.

ODC/San Francisco
2000
ODC was formed at Oberlin College in 1970 by Brenda Way. The group of 16 dancers, musicians, artists, choreographers, and composers moved to San Francisco in 1976, over time becoming one of the few thriving modern dance companies anywhere. As part of their residency, ODC developed the Diversity Youth Ensemble consisting of 15 young North Central Florida dancers of varied backgrounds and abilities, premired choreographic projects created by UF students, and developed a poetry-based choreographic project by an ensemble of deaf children from Lake Forest Elementary School. Click here for the concert program.

DanceBrazil
1999
Founded in 1977 by Jelon Vieira, DanceBrazil blends African-rooted Brazilian dance and music with modern dance and is renowned for its performances of capoeira. Evolving from grass-roots workshops at the Clark Center for the Arts in NYC, DanceBrazil has the unique ability to speak to a broad North American community, spreading an Afro-Brazilian cultural message through its educational, presenting, and producing activities in the United States and internationally. Click here for the concert program.

Chuck Davis & the African American Dance Ensemble
1998
Emerging in 1984 as a synthesis of the Chuck Davis Dance Company and the American Dance Festival’s Community Services Program, the African American Dance Ensemble seeks to preserve and share the finest traditions of African and African American dance and music through research, education and entertainment. With our motto, "peace, love, respect for everybody," we celebrate traditional African culture, aesthetics and values as resources for all people and utilize these resources to encourage interracial cooperation, cross-cultural understanding and societal analysis.

Urban Bush Women
1997
Through dance, drama, drumming and song, Urban Bush Women are committed to exploring the struggle and survival of the human spirit. Rooted in African-American folklore and spiritual traditions, the company’s work celebrates virtuosity, popular culture, and movement that we rarely recognize as “dance” and almost never acknowledge as “art.”

UF

Please upgrade your browser to the latest version
or disable compatibility view for a better
viewing experience.