Ozhigaabawi (One Stands Ready)

Jamie Kalama Wood is a multi-faceted artist and educator whose passions lie in Music, Theatre, Dance and Film. She has had the pleasure of working with various Broadway companies including Disney Theatrical Group, Roundabout Theatre Company, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild amongst others. While at these companies, Jamie worked on educational and audience engagement experiences for a number of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, including Amy and the Orphans, Into the Woods, Anything Goes, Newsies, Mary Poppins, and The Lion King. Additionally, Jamie is part of the team that created curriculum and choreographic support materials for Music Theatre International (MTI) licensed Disney shows such as The Lion King KIDS and JR., Aladdin KIDS and JR. and Moana JR. (where she was key in creating choreographic DVDs demonstrating the culturally appropriate use of Polynesian movement). Though she still calls her Broadway community home, Jamie eventually left New York City to pursue a career as a full-time professor at Brigham Young University (BYU). At BYU, Jamie works in the Cultural Dance Area of the Department of Dance, where she is the Artistic Director of a touring team known as the Living Legends—a team focused on the preservation, presentation, and current application of Indigenous cultures through music and dance. Jamie is also pleased to continue her work with Musical Theatre as a professor in the Music Dance Theatre major. Jamie Kalama Wood’s current creative and research focus is the Indigenous Dances of the Americas and the Polynesian Islands. She is of Native Hawaiian, Mexican, and European descent and honors the sacrifices of her Native American family so she could tell the stories of her communities today. In the film world, she has been an Assistant to the Director prior to grad school. However, 2020-2021 has been her first foray into directing her own films. Jamie’s newest projects include directing and producing a series of dance films highlighting the dances of the Native American, Latin, and Polynesian countries and nations—highlighting how the dances continue to thrive and flourish in these communities. Jamie is forever grateful for the continual support of her family.