Naila H. Ansari

A native of Buffalo, New York, Naila H. Ansari is a cum laude graduate of Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts program and holds an MFA from the University at Buffalo.

Ansari is an assistant professor at SUNY Buffalo State University in Theater and Africana Studies. Ansari recently served as the choreographer for Black Roots Summer, named Best Theater by the New York Times and praised by Broadway World for her directing and choreography of her adaptation of Shea's first produced show, Once On This Island.

Ansari merges artistry and scholarship to tell Black stories in America. Her research and performance project "The Movement of Joy" archives stories of Black women's joy across the country. In addition to the film documentary of these stories, Ansari has a podcast titled "This is Joy" on the Alive Podcast network, the first Black woman-owned podcast distribution company in the country.

She is a current Interfaith America fellow for the Black Interfaith Project in partnership with the African American Museum for History and Culture Smithsonian where she recently presented her production of the "Movement of Joy." Ansari serves as the dance director and company member of Ujima Theater. For more information, follow @naila_moves_joy on Instagram and themovementofjoy.com.