William Tass Jones, known as Bill T. Jones, (born February 15, 1952) is an American

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who c ...

, director, author and dancer. He is the co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Jones is Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, the company's home in Manhattan, whose activities encompass an annual presenting season together with allied education programming and services for artists. Independently of New York Live Arts and his dance company, Jones has choreographed for major performing arts ensembles, contributed to Broadway and other theatrical productions, and collaborated on projects with a range of fellow artists. Jones has been called "one of the most notable, recognized modern-dance choreographers and directors of our time."

Early life and education

Bill T. Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida, the tenth of 12 children born to Estella (née Edwards) and Augustus Jones. His parents were migrant farm workers and later worked in factories. In 1955, when Jones was three, the family relocated to Wayland, New York. Jones was a track star in high school and also participated in drama and debate. After his high school graduation in 1970, he began to attend

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the Stat ...

via a special admissions program for underprivileged students. At Binghamton, he shifted his focus to dance. In an interview, Jones noted: " inghamtonwas where I first took classes in west African and African-Caribbean dancing. Soon I started skipping track practice to go to those classes. It immediately appealed to me. It was an environment that was not about competition." Jones's dance studies at Binghamton also encompassed ballet and modern dance.

Career

Early years

During his 1971 freshman year at Binghamton, Jones met and fell in love with Arnie Zane, a 1970 graduate of the university who was living in the area honing his skills as a photographer. The personal connection they forged evolved into a personal and professional relationship that lasted until Zane's death from AIDS in 1988 About a year after meeting, the pair spent a year in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. On returning, Jones and Zane connected with dancer Lois Welk, who introduced them to contact improvisation, an emerging dance technique popularized by

Steve Paxton Steve Paxton (born 1939 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding me ...

that emphasizes intertwining partnering and shifts of weight and balance between partners. With Welk and another dancer, Jill Becker, they formed American Dance Asylum (ADA) in 1974. ADA was organized as a collective and performed nationally and internationally while also offering classes and presenting performances at its space in Binghamton. While the members of ADA generally choreographed their own works, they used a collaborative development process in which each member informed the activities of the others. Jones created a number of solo pieces during this period and was invited to present in New York City beginning in 1976, performing at

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...

, Dance Theater Workshop, and the Clark Center, among other venues. Jones's works during this period, such as ''Floating the Tongue'' (1979) and ''Everybody Works/All Beasts Count'' (1975), combined his elegant style of movement with spoken passages that explored and improvised on his reactions and memories evoked by the dancing, ranging from episodes in his life to digressions on social issues. Dance historian Susan Foster has characterized these works as using "the resonances between movement and speech to show the very mechanics of meaning-making and to deepen viewers' perceptions of the number of ways a movement can mean." In 1979, Jones and Zane felt that their collaboration with Welk and Becker had reached its conclusion. They were also interested in living in an area more supportive of both the art they were making and their identity as an interracial gay couple. They moved to the New York area in late 1979, settling in Rockland County, where they soon bought a house. The physical contrast between Jones (tall, Black, gracefully athletic) and Zane (short, White, sharply moving), together with contact improvisation techniques of intertwining and lifting formed the basis of many of the pair's dances during this period. The works they created together fused Jones's interest in movement and speech with Zane's visual sensibility rooted in his work as a photographer. Their duets featured film projections, stop-and-go movement and framing drawn from still photography, singing, and spoken dialogue. At the forefront of their works was their political and social focus, and the unusual—for the period—pairing of two male dancers and a frank acknowledgement of their personal relationship. A trilogy of duets the pair created during this time, consisting of ''Blauvelt Mountain'' (1980), ''Monkey Run Road'' (1979) and ''Valley Cottage'' (1981) firmly established their reputations as important new choreographers.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

From the mid 1970’s until 1981, Jones and his partner, Arnie Zane, toured the world dancing sexually provocative duets. Jones had also danced solos. In 1982, the pair formed the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company, recruiting a troupe of individualistic and nontraditional performers who represented different body sizes, shapes, and colors.” “Jones, a choreographic ''provocateur'', presents his ideas about identity, art, race, sexuality, nudity, power, censorship, homophobia, and AIDS-as-chemical-warfare with a streetwise, in-your-face attitude.” Works such as ''Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land'' (1990) and '' Still/Here'' are some of his most thought-provoking works. Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin The work “Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land” is about how people are different racially, sexually, and other ways. It is about working through these differences to reach a better place. It is about being strong but still yearning for acceptance and tolerance. Jones’ company is made up of a diverse group of individuals, each with their own unique contribution. The piece is also about Jones conflict with faith. Jones grew up in a religious home with a devout mother but he questions how Jesus allowed the cruelties of slavery to happen. Jones also questions the cruelty and death caused by

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

and how that meshes with having faith. Jones discusses how slave women were strong and had muscles as strong as men. He says his mother is a very strong woman. Jones believes people need to be strong but also tolerant. In the act “Eliza on the Ice” four very different women play the role of Eliza. But the fifth Eliza addresses the issue of sexuality. This Eliza is a man in a miniskirt and white high heels. Some gay men are caught in a type of slavery since they are not clearly masculine or feminine. They do not know where they belong. This piece is about the people who are performing it. Jones yearns for a state where people are totally accepting of each other. Nudity is an important aspect of this acceptance. The dancers are all very different physically from each other. The first nude seen is when Eliza is sexually molested. Here nudity is used to degrade women and use power over them. But the dance transforms nudity from something terrible to something beautiful at the end where all the different bodies find acceptance.

''Still/Here'' controversy

Although Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land was one of Jones largest and most political productions, the 1995 New York premiere of ‘ Still/Here’ led to a great deal of controversy and discussion. ‘ Still/Here’ is about dying, based on videotaped statements of people suffering from deadly diseases such as AIDS and cancer. Teachout , Terry. “Victim Art.” Mar. 1995. It features a video score by artist

Gretchen Bender Gretchen Bender (1951 in Seaford, Delaware – 2004 in New York City) was an American artist who worked in film, video, and photography. She was from the so-called 1980s Pictures Generation of artists, which included Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo, ...

based on excerpts from interviews with people who had received such diagnoses, together with a commissioned musical score, spoken text and movement. This work raises the question of whether art should be political. Most critical comments were favorable for the production, especially since many dancers were affected by AIDS. ''Still/Here'' was well received on its 1994 international tour. ''Newsweek'' called it "a work so original and profound that its place among the landmarks of 20th-century dance seems ensured." However, Arlene Croce, a well known dance critic for

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

wrote in her article ‘Discussing the Undiscussable’ a sharp negative critic of artists who present themselves as victims. Croce was so disgusted by “victim art” that she refused to see the production. Croce blamed politics for the sensation of victim art. “The arts bureaucracy in this country, which includes government and private-funding agencies, has in recent years demonstrated a blatant bias for utilitarian art-art that justifies the bureaucracy’s existence by being socially useful”. Croce's essay generated considerable discussion, pro and con. The next issue of the ''New Yorker'' (January 30, 1995) featured four pages of letters about the article from prominent cultural figures such as

Robert Brustein Robert Sanford Brustein (born April 21, 1927) is an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright, writer, and educator. He founded both the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Ma ...

bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks, was an American author and social activist who was Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She is best known for her writings on ...

Hilton Kramer Hilton Kramer (March 25, 1928 – March 27, 2012) was an American art critic and essayist. Biography Early life Kramer was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and was educated at Syracuse University, receiving a bachelor's degree in English; ...

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...

and

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

. In dissent, critic bell hooks observed, "To write so contemptuously about a work one has not seen is an awesome flaunting of privilege—a testimony to the reality that there is no marginalized group or individual powerful enough to silence or suppress reactionary voices. Ms. Croce's article is not courageous or daring, precisely because it merely mirrors the ruling political mood of our time." Many other liberals, such as Richard Goldstein from the Village Voice also sharply criticized Croce. Deborah Jowitt, a dance critic for the Village Voice wrote “It’s ironic…that Croce, so firmly opposed to the politicization of art, chose to turn her own critical essay into a political statement by declining to see the work at hand.” Yet other critics chose not to see this work either because they have been unimpressed with Jones choreography in his past productions or because works based on racism, sexism, AIDS have become predictable. Either way, Croce’s article is successful at bringing attention to the politicization of the American Arts. Croce argues for “the autonomy of art” or “art for art’s sake”. However, “opposing the politicization of art is now taken to be a political act”. .. The debate broadened to the national press. Author

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

noted in ''The New York Times'': "As with the Mapplethorpe obscenity trial of several years ago, the article has raised crucial questions about esthetics and morality, about the role of politics in art and about the role of the professional critic in assessing art that integrates 'real' people and events in an esthetic framework." The coverage brought Jones to wider attention. In 2016, ''Newsweek'' wrote, "Jones is probably best known outside of dance circles for his 1994 work ''Still/Here''."

Other collaborators

Creating more than 100 works for his own company, Jones has also choreographed for

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center ...

American Dance Theater,

AXIS Dance Company AXIS Dance Company is a professional physically integrated contemporary dance company and dance education organization founded in 1987 and based in Oakland, California. It is one of the first contemporary dance companies in the world to conscious ...

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. ...

, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet and Diversions Dance Company, among others. In 1995, Jones directed and performed in a collaborative work with

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, '' The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' S ...

and

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

, ''Degga'', at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

, commissioned by

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

’s "Serious Fun" Festival. His collaboration with Jessye Norman, ''How! Do! We! Do!'', premiered at New York's City Center in 1999. In 1989, Bill T. Jones choreographed ''D-Man in the Waters''. The AIDS epidemic was at an all-time high and the arts community was being greatly affected by it. After the death of company member, Demian Acquavella, Bill T. Jones decided to choreograph this piece in his honor. He raised awareness about the horrors of the disease by highlighting Acquavella's absence in the piece. The piece feature a lot of lifting to symbolize the unity that Bill T. Jones wanted to achieve as a society. Men lifting men, women lifting women, and women lifting men. ''D-Man in the Waters'' is a beautiful and moving piece of art that uses movement and lack thereof to portray the horrors of the AIDS epidemic, the loss of those affected by it, and the desperation to come together and find a solution. In 1990, Jones choreographed Sir

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...

’s ''New Year'' under the direction of Sir Peter Hall for the

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

and the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. He conceived, co-directed and choreographed ''Mother of Three Sons'', which was performed at the

Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale (german: Münchener Biennale) is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Musi ...

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

, and the Houston Grand Opera. He also directed ''Lost in the Stars'' for the Boston Lyric Opera. Jones’ theater involvement includes co-directing ''Perfect Courage'' with his sister and prolific performance artist, Rhodessa Jones for Festival 2000, in 1990. In 1994, he directed

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...

’s '' Dream on Monkey Mountain'' for The

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

, MN. Jones also collaborated with artist

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

in 1982 to create a series of both performance and visual arts together.

Broadway and off-Broadway

In 2005, Jones choreographed the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it hou ...

production of ''

The Seven "The Seven" is the 123rd episode of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. This was the 13th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on February 1, 1996. In this episode, Elaine and Kramer turn to Newman to resolve a dispute over which of them ...

'', a musical by Will Power based on ''

Seven Against Thebes The Seven against Thebes were seven champions in Greek mythology who made war on Thebes. They were chosen by Adrastus, the king of Argos, to be the captains of an Argive army whose purpose was to restore Oedipus' son Polynices to the Theban ...

'' by the classical Greek playwright

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

. ''The Seven'' transposed the original work to a modern urban setting and employed a range of musical styles to create what one reviewer called, "a strange new hybrid: a hip-hop musical comedy-tragedy." The play was recognized with three

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Choreography, given to Jones. Jones was choreographer for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

premiere of the 2006 rock musical '' Spring Awakening'', developed by composer Duncan Sheik and lyricist Steven Sater, and directed by Michael Mayer. The play is based on an 1891 German work that explores the tumult of teenage sexuality. '' Spring Awakening'' was widely acclaimed at its premiere and later won eight 2007

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

s, in addition to a range of other recognitions. Jones was recipient of the 2007 Tony Award for Best Choreography. Jones is co-creator, director and choreographer of the musical ''

Fela! ''Fela!'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is base ...

'', which ran off-Broadway in 2008 and opened on Broadway in 2009. Jones's collaborators on the project were Jim Lewis and Stephen Hendel. The play is based on events in the life of Nigerian musician and activist

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

and is inspired by ''Fela: This Bitch of a Life'', a 1982 authorized biography of Kuti by Carlos Moore. The Broadway presentation won three Tony Awards, including

Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

. In 2010, he was a Kennedy Center Honoree. Introduced by 1996 Kennedy Center Honoree Edward Albee and a speech by Claire Danes, the performance was "I Sing The Body Electric," a poem written by Walt Whitman in 1856. Also honored that year were talk show host/actress Oprah Winfrey, lyricist/composer Jerry Herman, country singer/songwriter Merle Haggard, and singer/songwriter/musician Paul McCartney. In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of ...

, an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern

LGBTQ rights movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in th ...

, ''

Queerty ''Queerty'' is an online magazine and newspaper covering gay-oriented lifestyle and news, founded in 2005 by David Hauslaib. As of June 2015, the site had more than five million monthly unique visitors. History ''Queerty'' was founded by David ...

'' named him one of the ''Pride50'' "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the l ...

people".

Opera

In 2017, Jones served as director, choreographer, and dramaturge for the world premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved written by Composer

Daniel Bernard Roumain Daniel Bernard Roumain (known by his initials, DBR; born 1970) is a classically trained composer, performer, violinist, and band-leader, whose work combines classical music with jazz, hip-hop and rock. Composer In September 2010, ''Dancers, Drea ...

and Librettist

Marc Bamuthi Joseph Marc Bamuthi Joseph (born 1975) is a spoken-word poet, dancer, playwright, and actor who frequently directs stand-alone hip-hop theater plays. Early life Joseph was born to Haitian immigrant parents and grew up in Laurelton, Queens, New Yor ...

. The work was commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and was listed by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

as one of the best classical performances of 2017.

Personal life

Jones is married to Bjorn Amelan, a French national who was raised in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Israel and several countries in Europe. The two have been together since 1993. Amelan was the romantic and business partner of noted fashion designer

Patrick Kelly Patrick or Paddy Kelly may refer to: Politicians * Patrick Kelly (Irish politician) (1875–1934), Irish soldier, farmer and politician, Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare 1927–1932 * Patrick Kelly (Canadian politician) (1846–1916), Prince Edward ...

from 1983 until Kelly's death from AIDS complications in 1990. In addition to pursuing his own work as a visual artist, Amelan is Creative Director of the Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Dance Company and has designed many of the company's sets since the mid-1990s. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

experiences of Amelan's mother, Dora Amelan, are the focus of Jones's work ''Analogy/Dora: Tramontane'' (2015). Jones and Amelan live in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, New York, just north of New York City, in a house purchased in 1980 by Jones and Arnie Zane. Despite Jones's long association with New York's performing arts and cultural life, he has never resided in the city. One of Jones's sisters, Rhodessa Jones, is a noted San Francisco performance artist, prison-arts educator and Co-Artistic Director of the performance ensemble Cultural Odyssey. Jones's nephew, Lance Briggs, is the subject of two works performed by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, ''Analogy/Lance'' (2016) and ''Letter to My Nephew'' (2017). Both explore the trajectory of Briggs's life, which descended from promise as a dancer, model and songwriter to involvement with drugs and prostitution, an AIDS diagnosis and becoming paraplegic.

Selected works

Jones has choreographed more than 120 documented works. The following is a representative selection highlighting collaborations with or commissions from notable companies or artists.

Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane

* ''Pas de Deux for Two'' (1973) * ''Across the Street'' (1975) * ''Monkey Run Road'' (1979) * ''Blauvelt Mountain'' (1980) * ''Valley Cottage'' (1981) * ''Rotary Action'' (2020) * ''Intuitive Momentum'' (1983) [Music,

; decor, Robert Longo] * ''Secret Pastures'' (1984) [Decor,

; costumes,

Willi Smith Willi Donnell Smith (February 29, 1948 – April 17, 1987) was an American fashion designer. At the time of his death, Smith was regarded as one of the most successful African-American designers in the fashion industry. His company, WilliWe ...

] * ''The Animal Trilogy'' (1986) * ''The History of Collage'' (1988)

Bill T. Jones

* ''Everybody Works/All Beasts Count'' (1975) * ''Holzer Duet... Truisms'' (1985) ext_by_Jenny_Holzer.html" ;"title="Jenny_Holzer.html" ;"title="ext by Jenny Holzer">ext by Jenny Holzer">Jenny_Holzer.html" ;"title="ext by Jenny Holzer">ext by Jenny Holzer* ''Virgil Thompson Etudes'' (1986) [Costumes, Bill Katz & Louise Nevelson] * ''D-Man in the Waters'' (1989) * ''It Takes Two'' (1989) * ''Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land'' (1990) * ''Absence'' (1990) * ''Broken Wedding'' (1992) * ''Still/Here'' (1994) * ''We Set Out Early...Visibility Was Poor'' (1997) * ''Black Suzanne'' (2002) * ''Chapel/Chapter'' (2006) * ''A Quarreling Pair'' (2006) * ''Serenade/The Proposition'' (2008) * ''Fondly Do We Hope...Fervently Do We Pray'' (2009) * ''Story/Time'' (2014)

Commissions and collaborations

* ''Fever Swamp'' (1983) ommission_from_Alvin_Ailey_American_Dance_Theater.html" ;"title="Alvin_Ailey_American_Dance_Theater.html" ;"title="ommission from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater">ommission from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater">Alvin_Ailey_American_Dance_Theater.html" ;"title="ommission from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater">ommission from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater* ''Mother of Three Sons'' (1991) [Commission from

* ''Broken Wedding'' (1992) [Commission from

] * ''Degga'' (1995) [Collaboration with

and

] * ''24 Images per Second'' (1995) ommission_from_Lyon_Opera_Ballet.html" ;"title="Lyon_Opera_Ballet.html" ;"title="ommission from Lyon Opera Ballet">ommission from Lyon Opera Ballet">Lyon_Opera_Ballet.html" ;"title="ommission from Lyon Opera Ballet">ommission from Lyon Opera Ballet* ''How! Do! We! Do!'' (1999) [Collaboration with Jessye Norman]li * ''Bill and Laurie: About Five Rounds'' (1996) [Collaboration with Laurie Anderson] * ''A Rite'' (2013) [Collaboration with Anne Bogart/SITI Company]

Major awards and honors

* 1986, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, ''Freedom of Information'' (Choreography/Creator; w/ Arnie Zane) * 1989, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, ''D-Man in the Waters'' (Choreography/Creator) * 1991, Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Award * 2001, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, ''The Breathing Show & The Table Project'' (Choreography/Creator; w/ Bjorn Amelan) * 2003,

The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize or Gish Prize is given annually to "a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind's enjoyment and understanding of life." It is among the most prestigious and on ...

* 2005, The Wexner Prize * 2006, Lucille Lortell Award, ''

'' (Outstanding Choreography) * 2007, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, ''Chapel/ Chapter'' (Choreography/Creator) * 2007, Off-Broadway Theater "Obie" Award, '' Spring Awakening'' (Music: Choreography) * 2007,

, ''Spring Awakening'' (Best Choreography) * 2008, The MacArthur Fellowship * 2009, Lucille Lortell Award, ''

'' (Outstanding Musical) * 2010, Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, République française * 2010,

, ''Fela!'' (Best Choreography) * 2010,

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

* 2011, The

YoungArts YoungArts (previously National YoungArts Foundation and National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, or NFAA) is an American charity established in 1981 by Lin and Ted Arison to help nurture emerging high-school artists. The foundation is bas ...

Arison Award * 2013, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award, ''D-Man in the Waters'' (Outstanding Revival) * 2013, The

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons ...

* 2014, The

Doris Duke Performing Artist Award The Doris Duke Artist Award is undertaken by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and designed to "empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering multi-year, unrestricted funding as a response to financial and funding challenges both unique to ...

*2014,

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

International Humanities Prize *2018, The James Robert Brudner Memorial Prize at Yale University

Filmography

Film appearances

* 1986: '' The Kitchen Presents Two Moon July'' * 1994: '' Black Is... Black Ain't'' * 2001: '' Free to Dance'' * 2004: '' Bill T. Jones: Dancing to the Promised Land''Bill T. Jones: Dancing to The Promised Land
VIEW Video. * 2008: '' The Black List: Volume One'' * 2008: '' The Universe of Keith Haring'' * 2008: '' Bill T Jones – Solos'' * 2021: '' Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters''

References

External links

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co.
official website * *
Archival footage of Bill T. Jones dancing Three Dances in 2000 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival

Bill T. Jones TED Talk 2015