Tamara Williams (Guest Artist)
Tamara Williams earned her BFA from Florida State University and MFA from Hollins University in collaboration with The American Dance Festival, The Forsythe Company, and Frankfurt University. Her choreography has been performed nationally and internationally in Serbia, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil, Jamaica, Benin, and Mexico. Tamara founded Moving Spirits, Inc. in 2011.
Williams’ publications include "Reviving Culture through Ring Shout" in The Dancer-Citizen Journal; "Living the Movement: An Exploration of Dance in Òrìṣà, Orixá, and Orisha Cultures” in the Jonkonnu Arts Journal; the chapter, "Dance: A Catalyst for Spiritual Transcendence" in Fire Under My Feet; and her book Giving Life to Movement published by McFarland & Co. in 2021.
Tamara was a 2012 recipient of the Artist Residency Fellowship at the Dance & Performance Institute in Trinidad. She was a 2013 recipient of the Harlem Stage/Aaron Davis Hall Fund for New Work grant, and a 2014/2016 Community Arts Fund Grantee by the Brooklyn Arts Council. Moving Spirits, Inc. was the 2015 Company-in-Residence at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Leadership in Queens. She was a 2015 Brooklyn Arts Exchange Fall Space Grant recipient. Tamara was commissioned by the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center to create a new work for Moving Spirits, Inc. in 2018, which premiered during her Kaatsbaan UpStream Residency in the Hudson Valley. Tamara has received Culture Blocks grants from the Mecklenburg County Arts & Science Council (ASC) supporting Moving Spirits' ongoing free African diaspora dance workshops in Charlotte. She is a College of Arts+Architecture faculty recipient of the 2019-2020 Board of Governors Teaching Award. In 2020, National Center for Choreography (NCCAkron) commissioned Tamara to create a new work through an invitation by Cara Hagan. In 2021, Tamara was an ASC Emerging Creative Fellowship recipient. Tamara has been awarded three Cultural Visions Grant from the ASC to support the annual African-Brazilian LAVAGEM FESTIVAL! in Charlotte. In 2022, Tamara was presented the Jan Van Dyke Legacy Award by the NC Dance Festival.
Tamara currently serves on the Dance/USA Board of Trustees and is a National Dance Project Advisor. She is dedicated to continuous work in underserved communities.
