Umoja Dance Company is a New Jersey-based multi-cultural company of dancers established in 1993 by Karen L. Love as a vehicle to educate, preserve and present dance as a communal and spiritual expression of life. Umoja creates a nurturing environment that encourages cross-cultural exchange and celebrates their accessibility to the human spirit. Innovative, dynamic, rhythmic and gestural phrases are the essence of Umoja, the Ki-swahili word for unity. Through our ongoing research we continue to adapt aspects of African culture, aesthetics and values that are paramount to our work. Our fusion of contemporary modern and West African dance reflects the evolution of movement and spirit becoming one.

We encourage innovative approaches to movement and promote collaboration between all artists and cultures. In an effort to expand the boundaries of dance we offer evening length concerts, classes, residencies, open workshops, interactive programs with audience participation, masterclasses, lecture demonstrations and outdoor performances. Our extensive educational outreach program elicits open dialogue between children, artists and audiences to celebrate the differences of our diverse backgrounds.

The movement vocabulary that Karen creates draws upon her experiences and research in the African-Caribbean traditions, classical Indian dance, capoeira and the fundamentals of yoga practice to develop a modern dance idiom that joins all cultures and fosters a greater understanding of all people.