Alessandra Williams

Alessandra Williams, PhD, is Associate Professor of Dance at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Williams co-edited the anthology Dancing Transnational Feminisms and her monograph, Bittersweet, identifies artistic-historical foundations for queer black dance. Williams was a 2023-2024 Early Career Faculty Fellow with ISGRJ.

Publications:

• Author, "Contemporary Dance on Native Land" (2024, Dance Research Journal)

• "A Radical Practice of Inclusion" (TDR 2022)

• Co-Editor, "Dancing Transnational Feminisms: Ananya Dance Theatre and the Art of Social Justice" (2021, University of Washington Press)

Media Appearances/Speaking Engagements:

• Paper Presenter, "Editing Diasporic Women of Color Politics in Dance Film: A Critique & Celebration," Asian and Asian Diasporic Dance HUB, Dance Studies Association Conference (June 2025)

• Facilitator, "Dance Healing Workshop," Barnard College (May 2025)

• Facilitator and Co-Presenter, "The Arts as Spaces of Black Healing," Healing From Global Anti-Blackness: An Interactive Symposium (February 2025)

Previous Organizations

• University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

• Carleton College

• University of California-Los Angeles

Accomplishments

• Awarded Tenure and Promoted to the Rank of Associate Professor, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers (April 2025)

• 2024-5 Research2Practice Fellow with the Tyler Clementi Center for Diversity Education and Bias Prevention

• 2023-4 Early Career Faculty Fellow, Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice

Upcoming projects

• Monograph, "Bittersweet: A Queer Black World in the Dances and Films of David Roussève and the REALITY Dance Company (Wesleyan University Press, spring 2026)

Social and racial justice concerns appear in the theory and method of my scholarship in dance studies, especially as I research the intersectional formation of queer African American dance. These concerns also emerge in my performance work as a dance artist with Ananya Dance Theatre.

The Advancing Studies of Queer Black Dance project explores the intricate relationship between sexuality, race, and gender through choreography. The program explores these dynamics with former artists from the renowned "REALITY" dance company. Through research, curriculum development, and public engagement, the initiative aims to deepen our understanding of the cultural significance of queer black dance.

https://globalracialjustice.rutgers.edu/what-we-do/art-culture-and-public-humanities