U.J. Mangune

U.J. MANGUNE

U.J. Mangune (they/she/he) is a non-binary, Tagalog-Kapampángan artmaker developing work at the intersection of choreography, direction, and film. Born and raised on the West Coast and shaped by early roots in breaking, hip hop, and popping, U.J. builds movement from stories and honors dance as a communal and ancestral language. Without access to a formal arts education, they’ve spent the last decade learning instead through performance, collaboration, and lived experience in musical theatre and commercial media. Their choreography has received recognition including the Gypsy Rose Lee Award and BroadwayWorld Critics' Choice and has been featured in projects with Amazon, GooglePlay, and Macklemore. U.J. continues to grow a practice centered on connection, empathy, and the recovery of indigenous ways of knowing with the mission of using movement to reflect, reclaim, and reimagine the stories of the global majority.