Trent D. Williams, Jr. is an Associate Professor of Dance in the School of Dance. Mr. Williams has also served as a faculty member at the University of Florida, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Trinidad & Tobago, Howard Community College, Howard University Division of Fine Arts and Johns Hopkins Estelle Dennis/ Peabody Dance Training Program for Boys. Additionally, he is a consultant for the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts Council, and MAP Fund. Recently awarded the University of Florida 2020 Superior Accomplishment, 2019-2022 UF Provost’s Term Professorship, 2018 UF Excellence Award for Assistant Professors, and 2018 International Educator. In addition, Williams was selected as one of “40 under 40” by The Gainesville Sun.
Mr. Williams was a founding member of Urban Souls Dance Company in Houston, Texas and he has been a guest artist with Tallahassee Ballet in Tallahassee, FL, EDGEWORKS Dance Theatre in Washington, DC. Additionally, Mr. Williams has performed alongside Destiny’s Child, 112, and Janelle Monae among others. In 2007, Mr. Williams was invited to dance with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) in world-renowned works by Talley Beatty, The Stack Up (1992) and Eleo Pomare, Las Desenamoradas (1987), Donald Byrd, Rodney A. Brown, William B. McClellan, Jr., Debbie Blunden-Diggs, Shonna Hickman-Matlock and Bill T. Jones.
His creative research focused on the African diaspora, inclusive of Latinx traditions, Caribbean traditions and African- American traditions. Inspired by literature, history, cinema, and current events, he seeks material that reveals the universality of the human condition, including social inequalities and how they impact our changing world. His current dance film, Black Stains, in collaboration with filmmaker, Tiffany Rhynard, will help people to better understand the complex issues that intersect in the lives of black men in America. This dance film has been recognized nationally at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema in Boulder, Colorado and internationally at the London International Screendance Festival, just to name a few. His choreography has been performed by The Tallahassee Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Second Company, Texas Tech University, Towson University, University of Trinidad & Tobago, Coker College Dance Company, Urban Souls Dance Company, and has been showcased at The American Dance Festival, The American College Dance Festival, The Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, The Dance Gallery in Huntsville, Texas, and Kennedy Center: Millennium Stage.
Williams is a native Houstonian received his MFA in Dance Performance & Choreography from Florida State University and BA in Psychology from Morehouse College.
