Dance Professor Receives International Education Award
The College of Arts + Architecture is proud to announce that Associate Professor of Dance Tamara Williams has been named the recipient of the 2024 Faculty International Education Award. Presented annually by the Office of International Programs to a faculty or staff member who has demonstrated exceptional contributions to global learning and international outreach, the award honors Williams for her groundbreaking work in bringing global perspectives into the classroom, advancing cultural understanding, and creating opportunities for community engagement through the dance traditions of the African Diaspora.
Williams, a native of Augusta, Georgia, has spent much of her life immersed in the study and practice of African Diaspora dance forms. Her academic and professional career spans the globe, with experiences that include performing and teaching across various cultural contexts in Brazil, Trinidad, Cuba, and several countries in West Africa. Through her research and teaching, Williams emphasizes the importance of intercultural exchange, which she believes is vital to her work as a dancer, teacher, and community artist.
“Engaging with different cultures enriches my creative practice and allows me to share a fuller range of movement traditions with students,” she said. “International education provides transformative experiences that connect students not just to techniques, but to histories, cultures, and communities that are foundational to civic responsibility. This exposure helps students cultivate empathy, expand their creative vocabulary, and foster a broader worldview—skills that are essential both in the arts and in navigating an increasingly interconnected world.”
Among the courses Williams teaches is Silvestre Technique, a contemporary dance technique founded by Rosangela Silvestre in Brazil. She has also led students on immersive summer research trips to Brazil, where they study African Brazilian dance forms and participate in cultural exchanges. These trips allow students to engage directly with communities in Brazil, enriching their understanding of dance as both an art form and a vehicle for social change.
One of Williams’s most notable achievements is her publication of Giving Life to Movement: The Silvestre Dance Technique (McFarland Press, 2021). The book situates the Silvestre Technique within the historical and political context of African-Brazilian culture, with a focus on the technique’s connection to spiritual resistance and empowerment.
In addition to her academic work, Williams has been a driving force in the Charlotte arts community through her dance company, Moving Spirits, which promotes the African Diaspora’s cultural heritage through dance. She has led collaborations with local cultural institutions such as The Mint Museum, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Art + Culture, offering performances, classes, and public discussions that explore the intersections of history, art, and community.
In 2021, Williams co-founded the LAVAGEM! African Brazilian Festival in partnership with her husband, Luciano Xavier, and The Mint Museum. Presented each spring, the festival celebrates African-Brazilian culture through dance, music, and cuisine, and brings together artists, students, and community members for an intercultural exchange. The festival has been a major success, drawing more than 250 participants each year and showcasing the ways in which global dance forms can build connections across cultures.
LAVAGEM! is a program of Bloco Afro Ayédùn, an initiative founded by Williams and Xavier that celebrates Black and African heritage and works with communities in the Charlotte area. Programs such as “Come-Unity” bring dance and arts programming to underserved neighborhoods in Charlotte, demonstrating Williams’s belief in the power of arts to build bridges and create social change.
In the spring and summer of 2025, Williams will travel to Brazil and to Benin to continue research for her next book, The African Diaspora and Civic Responsibility: Perspectives on Addressing Injustice Through the Arts, Education and Community Engagement, which will be published by McFarland Press. In both countries, she will continue her work to foster cultural exchange between African and Brazilian dancers and will join others to begin planning the next International African Diaspora Dance Traditions Conference, which is scheduled for August 2026.
As a recipient of the 2024 Faculty International Education Award, Williams will receive a $2,000 stipend and a plaque, with her name inscribed on a perpetual plaque in the Office of International Programs. The award will be formally celebrated at the annual International Education Celebration on November 20, part of the university’s International Education Week, November 18-22.
By Kyle Gibilaro