Alumna Ebony Williams Demonstrates How to Get in Formation
Image by Kelly Davidson
Conservatory alumna Ebony Williams’s (B.F.A. '05, contemporary dance) versatility has brought her to the heights of both the elite dance world and the commercial stage—from training with Boston Ballet and working with the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, to dancing alongside today’s biggest recording artists. Williams has been a backup dancer for Beyoncé since appearing in the iconic “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” music video in 2009, and performed in the singer’s 2016 Formation World Tour.
A Boston native, Williams recently returned to her hometown to perform in Berklee’s 10-year anniversary celebration of Beyoncé’s all-female band, which also featured Tia Fuller, a professor in Berklee's Ensemble Department, and Berklee alumnae Nikki Glaspie '04 and Rie Tsuji B.M. '02.
Berklee is among the four schools that Beyoncé handpicked to participate in Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Formation Scholars Award, which will be offered in fall 2017 to one qualified female student, and is open to those enrolled at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Berklee College of Music (Boston or Valencia, Spain campus), and Berklee Online.
Watch Williams demonstrate choreography from Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” and “Formation."