Tamara Williams

Tamara Williams is an Associate Professor of Dance and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Dance at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds a BFA from Florida State University and an MFA from Hollins University (collaboration with The American Dance Festival, The Forsythe Company, and Frankfurt University). A certified GYROTONIC® Trainer, Reiki Practitioner, and capoeirista, Williams bridges dance technique with cultural preservation and social justice.

• Education: BFA, Florida State University; MFA, Hollins University (collaborative programs)

Williams’ research focuses on African Diaspora dance traditions, including African-American ring shout practices and African-Brazilian dance. She founded Moving Spirits, Inc. (2011), a contemporary arts organization dedicated to performing and documenting African Diaspora arts, and has disseminated her work internationally. Her choreography has been performed across the U.S., Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, and Serbia.

Notable awards include the 2012 Artist Residency Fellowship (Trinidad), 2013 Harlem Stage grant, 2014–2015 Brooklyn Arts Council Community Arts Fund grants, and UNC Charlotte’s 2020 Board of Governors Teaching Award. She has also received multiple Culture Block grants (Mecklenburg County) and Faculty Research Grants to study ring shout traditions in the Carolinas and West Africa.

Williams has developed community programs in New York City and Charlotte to teach African Diaspora dance and music to underserved populations, emphasizing arts education as a tool for social justice.