Distinguished Artists

Vicki Adams Willis

2021

  • Dance
  • Calgary, Alberta

Vicki Adams Willis has changed the face of jazz dance in Alberta and Canada. A co-founder nearly 40 years ago of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD), she is foremost a teacher and choreographer of more than 35 original productions. She is recognized as a true leader in the world of jazz; an acclaimed ground-breaking choreographer who created one of the most unique jazz dance companies in the world, and the key person to ensure Calgary, Alberta as a viable dance centre for serious jazz artists. She has helped to change the very course of the jazz dance art form by influencing students, dancers, musicians and audiences with her deeply researched and brilliantly creative work. Jazz dance is a deeply misunderstood artform. Born of African parents and of the Black American experience, Vicki Adams Willis acknowledges herself as a guest in this form and has demonstrated her deep understanding of, and utter respect for, the authentic roots and history of jazz through her research, teaching and choreography. 

The company she co-created in 1984 – Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) has gained international recognition. It has been referenced in articles, dissertations, anthologies and, most recently, in an award-winning international film: Uprooted–The Journey of Jazz Dance, which had its Canadian premiere at the 2021 Toronto Black Film Festival.

As a jazz-centered, female-led, 35-year old dance company, DJD is wholly unique, rare, and Adams Willis, has much to teach us about clarity of mission and sustaining a vision while navigating the ever-shifting landscape of the professional dance world.- Melanie George, Founder/Director, Jazz Is… Dance Project and JazzDanceDirect.com, Associate Curator, Jacob’s Pillow.

  • Vicki Adams Willis, Dancing Parkinson’s YYC Program at 4th street studio – Parkinson’s class on a break
  • Dancing Parkinson’s YYC Program – Performance for One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo, 2015
  • Dancing Parkinson’s YYC Program at the DJD Dance Centre, 2017
  • Pivoting Echos with Musician George Koller
  • Evanescence, 2000
    Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
  • Performance shot of Red Shoes a signature piece by Vicki Adams Willis with Buster Brown
  • Jazzmanian Crossroads, 1991
    Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
  • Decidedly Jazz Dance
  • Magnetic Consequences with Jackie Richardson, 2007

NEWS AND OTHER WORK

ARTISTS IN SIMILAR FIELD

Naomi Brand

Year: 2012

Dance

Kaiti Pasqualotto

Year: 2010

Dance

Helen Husak

Year: 2010

Dance

APPLY FOR the Distinguished Artist Award
Distinguished Artist AWARD RECIPIENTS
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube

© 2023 the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards