Ayo Joy Walker

Dr. Ayo Walker is an Associate Professor of Critical Dance Studies at Columbia College Chicago. As an anti-racist educator, she centers culturally relevant and critical dance pedagogies that affirm the techniques, genealogies, and embodied knowledge of historically marginalized dance aesthetics in higher education. Her choreography highlights Africanist and Black dance principles—“blood memories,” the “aesthetic of the cool,” and the “get down”—to challenge reductive assumptions about Black embodiment. Through research, creative practice, and teaching, she advocates for expanded cultural dance literacy beyond dominant Eurocentric frameworks. Her company, Ayo & Company, has been commissioned by PUSHfest, Sacramento/Black Art of Dance, Rhythmically Speaking, and the Modern American Dance Company. Their acclaimed work Jadine’s Son toured the 2022 We Create Festival and BIG MUDDY Dance Festival before being commissioned by the International Association of Blacks in Dance. Her recent work P-I-E-C-E-S premiered at the 2023 Southeast ACDA 50th Anniversary Festival, later selected for both GALA and National concerts, praised for its “unexpected crisscrossing of movement cultures.” Dr. Walker’s scholarship on decolonizing the dancing body informs her roles as Resident Scholar, Editor, Researcher, and Consultant for the Rennie Harris American Street Dance Archive and Hip Hop Pedagogy instructor for Rennie Harris University, featured in DANCE Magazine for advancing codified, culturally grounded approaches to teaching Hip Hop.

  • Spring 2026 MR@Judson Artist
The image shows a dancer captured in a powerful moment on a dark stage. She kneels with her legs folded beneath her, leaning back as her head lifts upward. Her long, blonde braids sweep dramatically through the air, fanning outward in mid-motion. She wears a loose fitting black cami jumpsuit and is barefoot, her form highlighted by focused lighting against the black background. The contrast emphasizes the motion of her hair and the expressive shape of her body. The scene conveys strength, fluidity, and emotional intensity, evoking a sense of artistry and freedom in movement. Photo by Bill Frederking.
ID: The image shows a dancer captured in a powerful moment on a dark stage. She kneels with her legs folded beneath her, leaning back as her head lifts upward. Her long, blonde braids sweep dramatically through the air, fanning outward in mid-motion. She wears a loose fitting black cami jumpsuit and is barefoot, her form highlighted by focused lighting against the black background. The contrast emphasizes the motion of her hair and the expressive shape of her body. The scene conveys strength, fluidity, and emotional intensity, evoking a sense of artistry and freedom in movement. Photo by Bill Frederking.