Thaddeus Davis

Thaddeus Davis serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of African American Studies at the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina, and is Co-Director of Wideman Davis Dance. His career bridges academic scholarship with professional dance performance and choreography, emphasizing social justice through artistic practice.

His educational background includes:

• Bachelor of Fine Arts from Butler University (1993)
• Master of Fine Arts from Hollins University/ADF (2011)

Professor Davis's research investigates intersections of gender, class, race, and technology through an African American lens, manifesting in choreography, film, and writing. His recent work shifts from traditional proscenium stages to environmentally immersive public space performances, challenging historical exclusions in theater spaces and fostering communal audience engagement. This approach directly confronts how historically white venues have marginalized Black audiences, using spatial politics to build meaningful connections.

His creative output from 2009-2021 reveals consistent thematic evolution toward democratizing dance access. Early works like Balance (2009) focused on physical metaphors, while recent projects such as Migratuse Ataraxia integrate technology and public space activation, reflecting growing emphasis on audience immersion and social equity in performance contexts.

His accolades include:

• Cultural Envoy to Portugal, U.S. State Department (2007)
• Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2002)
• New York Times Top Ten Dance Highlights (2002)
• Butler University’s “50 Under 50” (2004)

Professor Davis has mentored dancers through teaching appointments at over 20 institutions including The Juilliard School, University of Iowa, and Dance Theatre of Harlem, supported by grants like the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Envoy program. He actively shapes dance policy through service on Dance/USA’s Board of Trustees and Kid’s Dance Outreach.

As Co-Director of Wideman Davis Dance, he leads innovative collaborations exploring architectural space as performance medium. The company’s environmentally immersive productions transform public spaces into communal events, directly challenging conventional theater politics while building bridges with historically excluded audiences through shared artistic experiences.