Ann M. Williams
Dallas Black Dance Theatre

Ann M. Williams, founder and artistic director of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, is a founding member of the Dance Council and The International Association of Blacks in Dance. Ms. Williams received her early dance training under Barbara Hollis (a member of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company), Edith James, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. She received additional training under Alvin Ailey and Arthur Mitchell. Ms. Williams is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University and earned a Master of Arts Degree in Dance and Related Arts from Texas Woman’s University (TWU). She holds a certificate in Arts Management from Texas A&M University and received honorary degrees, Doctor of Humanities from Northwood University and a Doctor of Philosophy in Dance from TWU. She served six years on the Texas Woman’s University Board of Regents. She is a 2002 inductee into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame; and in April 2005, she was honored at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as a part of the Masters of African-American Choreography series.

For 32 years, Ms. Williams has directed Dallas Black Dance Theatre from a community-based organization and a semi-professional organization to a full professional dance company.

She has received many awards and honors for her support and commitment to the arts and service organizations including Sankofa Foundation Legacy Award of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Dallas Dance Council, NAACP, the Dallas Historical Society, Zeta Phi Beta’s “Woman of the Year,” and she was honored as a “distinguished alumna” by Prairie View and TWU in 1990. She serves on the Board of Directors of Texas Ballet Theater and The International Association of Blacks in Dance.