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It was a weekend defined by extraordinary recognition for Florida State University Lawton Distinguished Professor Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.  

Within a span of 24 hours, Zollar — a celebrated performer, choreographer and the founder of the internationally acclaimed company Urban Bush Women — received two of performing arts’ most prestigious honors. 

On Saturday, Jan. 31, Zollar accepted a special Obie Theater Grant Award on behalf of Urban Bush Women. The next evening, “Intelligence,” an opera Zollar directed and choreographed, won the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. 

“When the two awards were announced back-to-back, I was just beside myself,” Zollar said. “It was pretty incredible.” 

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Created in partnership with librettist Gene Scheer and composer Jake Heggie, “Intelligence” explores the lesser-known story of Mary Jane Bowser, an enslaved woman and Elizabeth Van Lew, a secret abolitionist living in Richmond, Virginia — two women from seemingly opposing sides of society who formed a spy ring for the Union during the Civil War. 

Though Zollar is celebrated for dance theater, her work in opera highlighted her versatility. 

“I think as an artist you must be really committed to a point of view and committed to your work,” Zollar said. “That point of view can live across many kinds of genres.” 

The production featured a team of FSU School of Dance alumni, including Assistant Choreographer Vincent Thomas (MFA ‘98), Coordinator Cheri Stokes (MFA ‘17) and dancers Mikaila Ware (BFA ‘17), Loren Davidson (MFA ‘12) and Kentoria Earle (BFA ’18, MA ‘19). 

Just hours before the Grammy win, Zollar was celebrated by the American Theatre Wing with an Obie Award for Urban Bush Women. The Obies, which honor excellence in Off-Broadway and non-profit theater, recognized the company for its 40-year commitment to centering the experiences of Black women and the African diaspora. 

Founded by Zollar in 1984, the Brooklyn-based ensemble is known for weaving history and social commentary into performances that blend artistic rigor with community engagement. The Obie citation highlighted the company’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of storytelling through the body. 

For Zollar, these accolades are not just personal triumphs but teaching tools she brings back to her students at Florida State University. In the classroom, she emphasizes curiosity and the rigor required to move from competence to excellence — a journey she calls “the road to extraordinary.” 

“The road to extraordinary has many stops,” Zollar said. “First you become competent, then good, then very good, then excellent and then extraordinary. But the student decides where they stop by the work they put in. It’s not comfortable to step outside of what you already know, but it is the place of growth.” 

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James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts, noted that these accolades reinforce Zollar’s standing as a titan in the arts. 

“Jawole Zollar continues to explore, challenge and inspire through her artistry, embracing ever more ambitious creative endeavors across a career defined by sustained excellence,” Frazier said. “The recent honors awarded to Urban Bush Women and to the Houston Grand Opera stand not as isolated achievements, but as a powerful affirmation of Professor Zollar’s enduring legacy and her continued contemporary relevance as an artist and collaborator of the highest caliber.” 

These prestigious honors for Zollar arrive just days after another major victory for the department, as associate professor nia love was recognized with a Bessie Award for Outstanding Choreographer/Creator.  

For more information, visit dance.fsu.edu.

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nia love, an associate professor in Florida State University’s School of Dance and an alumna of the university, was recognized for her work “UNDERcurrents,” a multimedia performance installation that “probes the seam between the catastrophic history of transatlantic slavery and our quotidian memories of people who have lived in this time.” 

“It is a powerful affirmation,” love said. “The awards aren’t why you do the work, but you are hoping that within the work that you do, you will be acknowledged.” 

According to The Bessie’s official announcement, love received this award “for a transporting experience, taking the audience through an immersive and sensory journey of live performance and projected visuals. Historical research and personal memories are woven together to pose questions to the audience — with urgency and compassion.” 

We are proud to celebrate nia love on the occasion of her recent Bessie Award,” said James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts. “nia has spent her adult life working primarily as an independent artist based in New York City, no small feat in the field of dance, and her career exemplifies a sustained, uncompromising commitment to making art. We are honored to claim her both as a distinguished member of our School of Dance faculty and as an alum whose creative practice continues to shape and challenge the field.” 

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“nia has spent her adult life working primarily as an independent artist based in New York City, no small feat in the field of dance, and her career exemplifies a sustained, uncompromising commitment to making art.”

— James Frazier, dean of the College of Fine Arts

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The Bessie Awards, established in 1984, are widely considered the highest honor in the independent dance field, often described by industry professionals as the “Oscars of dance.” This marks love’s third Bessie Award; she was previously recognized for Outstanding Musical Composition for love’s “g1(host):lostatsea” production in 2019. 

“UNDERcurrents” is the result of research carried out over several years, including significant projects undertaken in Tallahassee, both at the university and throughout the Panhandle and gulf regions.

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The project was developed in part during love’s 2022 residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC), a dance research center housed within the FSU School of Dance. 

love came to MANCC as a choreographic fellow. During the residency, she worked with two FSU College of Communication and Information students on the collection of 360° and underwater video footage for “UNDERcurrents.”  

“UNDERcurrents pivots on this fundamental query: what remains of the Middle Passage as force, gesture and affect?” love said. “Through the thematic elements of water and doors, the project conjures multiple registers of our living in continual rupture.” 

love earned her deep-sea diving license in 2019 and recorded much of this project in Tobago, West Indies. Building on her experience, she drew inspiration from her research and captured further footage along the Gulf Coast near Cape San Blas. 

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The location holds profound personal significance for love; it is near the site where she spread the ashes of her father, the renowned sculptor and former FSU Visual Arts professor Ed Love, following his passing in 1999. 

“MANCC allowed me to take the work that I had done before… and start thinking about these ghostly clues that were left from my father’s passing,” love said. “Coming to the ocean became this alchemy of sorts that helped to re-ignite some of the things that I feel like my father passed on to me.” 

love, who earned her Master of Fine Arts from FSU in 1992 and returned as faculty in 2024, integrates her research directly into the classroom. She describes her teaching philosophy as a “tabernacle,” viewing her students not just as learners, but as young artists and collaborators. 

love is currently preparing for the next iteration of this research, a large-scale exhibition titled “Floating Metal: UNDERcurrents In My Father’s Garden.” The exhibition is scheduled to open in August 2026 at the FSU Museum of Fine Arts. It will encompass three galleries and feature a dialogue between love’s performance work and her father’s sculptures, paintings and photographs. 

For more information about the FSU School of Dance, visit dance.fsu.edu. 

Editor’s Note: Per the artist’s request, the name nia love should appear in all lowercase letters.