On Oct. 16, Hannah Thomas, assistant professor of dance, and the Good Works Dance Theatre present "Joy in the City." The event will be held in the Dougherty Dance Theatre (Gerlinger Annex 3rd floor) at the University of Oregon. Thomas is a recipient of CSWS's new Faculty Research Fellowships.
"Joy in the City" is the culmination of a dance residency-to-performance workshop for Black women dance artists in collaboration with UO students. The project included an off-capus premiere at Gonzaga University on Sept. 18.
Thomas joined the School of Music in dance in Fall 2019. She is a native of Atlanta, GA and holds an MFA in Dance and Choreography, along with a teaching artists certificate from Arizona State University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Georgia College and received her professional training from DeKalb School of the Arts, Ballethnic Dance Company, Price Performing Arts Center, McClendon School of Dance, Jr. Hawks Dance Team, and the Jr. Falcons Dance Team. Hannah is a member of Embodied Scholars, an exclusive group created for Black hip-hop teachers at the college level. Trained in many styles, including contemporary dance, jazz, ballet, modern and African, her other passions include styling and fashion, dance ministry work for local churches, screen dances, choreographing for musical theatre, and sound engineering. She is in the process of creating a live podcast series exploring sisterhood in the Black community.
The performance will be held 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, with and Artist Q&A and light refreshments to close out the evening. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $10 general, $5 students, and are available online.
Applications for CSWS Faculty Fellowships are due 5 p.m. Monday Oct. 26, 2026.