Bill T. Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bill T. Jones
Jones in Springfield, Illinois
Born	William Tass Jones (1952-02-15) February 15, 1952 (age 73) Bunnell, Florida, U.S.
Education	Binghamton University
Occupation	Choreographer, dancer
Spouse(s)	Arnie Zane; Bjorn G. Amelan

William Tass Jones, known as Bill T. Jones (born February 15, 1952), is a famous American choreographer, director, author, and dancer. He is a co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, which is based in Manhattan. Jones is also the Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, an organization that hosts dance performances and offers educational programs for artists. He is known for creating dances for many groups, working on Broadway shows, and collaborating with other artists. People often call him "one of the most notable, recognized modern-dance choreographers and directors of our time."

Bill T. Jones's Early Life and Education

Bill T. Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida, as the tenth of 12 children. His parents worked as farm workers and later in factories. When he was three, his family moved to Wayland, New York. In high school, Jones was a track star and also enjoyed drama and debate.

After graduating in 1970, he went to Binghamton University. There, he started focusing on dance. He took classes in West African and African-Caribbean dancing, which he loved. He also studied ballet and modern dance.

Starting His Dance Career

Meeting Arnie Zane

In 1971, while at Binghamton, Jones met Arnie Zane, who was a photographer. They became close friends and partners, working together until Zane's death in 1988. After spending a year in Amsterdam, Jones and Zane learned about "contact improvisation," a dance style where partners move together, sharing weight and balance.

In 1974, they formed the American Dance Asylum (ADA) with other dancers. ADA performed around the world and offered classes. Jones also created many solo dances during this time. His early works often mixed elegant movements with spoken words, exploring his memories and thoughts on social issues.

Forming Their Own Company

In 1979, Jones and Zane decided to move to the New York area. They wanted to be in a place that supported their art and their unique partnership. Their dances often highlighted the physical differences between Jones (tall and graceful) and Zane (shorter and sharp). They used contact improvisation, film projections, singing, and spoken dialogue in their performances.

Their works were also very focused on social and political topics. They were known for being two male dancers who openly shared their personal relationship on stage. A series of duets they created, like Blauvelt Mountain (1980) and Valley Cottage (1981), made them famous as important new choreographers.

Important Dance Works

Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promise Land premiered in 1990, after Arnie Zane passed away. In this work, Jones explored feelings of being an outsider and ideas about race and gender. He wanted the piece to show how people with different backgrounds can find common ground.

The dance has four parts:

• Act 1: The Cabin looks at the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin in a new way.
• Act 2: Eliza imagines different possibilities for the character Eliza from the book. Jones used different dancers, each showing a unique emotional state. For example, one Eliza showed anger with tight fists, while another showed a lack of control with limp arms. A man even danced as Eliza, challenging ideas about identity.
• Act 3: The Supper was inspired by Jones's mother's faith and the image of the Last Supper. It showed a chaotic scene that ended with a rap about justice.
• The Promise Land was the final part and sometimes included local community members.

This work bravely explored the challenges faced by people who don't fit into typical society, asking how many groups can truly feel "free at last."

Still/Here and Its Discussion

In 1995, Jones's work Still/Here caused a lot of discussion. This piece was about dying, based on interviews with people who had serious illnesses like AIDS and cancer. It used video, music, spoken words, and dance.

The main question it raised was whether art should deal with such difficult, real-life topics. Many critics praised the show, especially since many dancers were affected by the AIDS crisis. Newsweek even called it "a work so original and profound that its place among the landmarks of 20th-century dance seems ensured."

However, one critic, Arlene Croce, wrote a very negative review without even seeing the show. She called it "victim art" and argued that art should not be used for social purposes. This sparked a big debate among artists and writers. Many disagreed with Croce, saying that art can and should reflect real-life experiences and social issues. This discussion brought Bill T. Jones even more attention.

Other Collaborations and Works

Bill T. Jones has created over 100 works for his own company and for other famous dance groups like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He has also worked with well-known artists such as Toni Morrison and Max Roach.

In 1989, he choreographed D-Man in the Waters. This piece was created during the AIDS epidemic, which deeply affected the arts community. After a company member, Demian Acquavella, passed away, Jones created this dance in his honor. The piece uses a lot of lifting to show unity and the need for people to come together. It beautifully portrays the sadness of loss and the hope for solutions.

Jones has also directed operas and theater productions. He worked with his sister, Rhodessa Jones, on Perfect Courage. He also directed Dream on Monkey Mountain for The Guthrie Theater. In 1982, he even collaborated with the famous artist Keith Haring on performance and visual art projects.

Broadway and Off-Broadway Success

Bill T. Jones has made a big impact on musical theater.

• In 2005, he choreographed The Seven, a hip-hop musical that won an award for Outstanding Choreography.
• He choreographed the Broadway musical Spring Awakening in 2006. This show won eight Tony Awards in 2007, and Jones received the Tony Award for Best Choreography.
• Jones also co-created, directed, and choreographed Fela!, a musical about Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. It opened on Broadway in 2009 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Choreography for Jones.

In 2010, he was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, a special award for artists who have greatly contributed to American culture.

Bill T. Jones's Personal Life

Jones is married to Bjorn Amelan, who is a visual artist and the Creative Director for the Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Dance Company. Amelan has designed many of the company's sets since the mid-1990s. The experiences of Amelan's mother during World War II inspired Jones's dance work Analogy/Dora: Tramontane (2015).

Jones and Amelan live in Rockland County, New York, in the same house Jones bought with Arnie Zane in 1980.

Jones's sister, Rhodessa Jones, is also a well-known performance artist and educator. His nephew, Lance Briggs, is the subject of two dance works, Analogy/Lance (2016) and Letter to My Nephew (2017). These pieces explore Briggs's life journey, including his challenges with health.

Selected Works

Jones has choreographed over 120 documented works. Here are some important ones:

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)
• Secret Pastures (1984)
• The Animal Trilogy (1986)
• The History of Collage (1988)

Bill T. Jones

• Everybody Works/All Beasts Count (1975)
• Holzer Duet... Truisms (1985)
• Virgil Thompson Etudes (1986)
• 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) [for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater]
• Mother of Three Sons (1991) [for New York City Opera]
• Broken Wedding (1992) [for Boston Ballet]
• Degga (1995) [with Max Roach and Toni Morrison]
• 24 Images per Second (1995) [for Lyon Opera Ballet]
• How! Do! We! Do! (1999) [with Jessye Norman]
• Bill and Laurie: About Five Rounds (1996) [with Laurie Anderson]
• A Rite (2013) [with Anne Bogart/SITI Company]

Major Awards and Honors

• 1986, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award
• 1989, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award
• 1991, Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Award
• 2001, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award
• 2003, The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize
• 2005, Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2005, The Wexner Prize
• 2006, Lucille Lortell Award
• 2007, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award
• 2007, Off-Broadway Theater "Obie" Award
• 2007, Tony Award
• 2007, United States Artists Fellowship
• 2008, The MacArthur Fellowship
• 2009, Lucille Lortell Award
• 2010, Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (from France)
• 2010, Tony Award
• 2010, Kennedy Center Honors
• 2011, The YoungArts Arison Award
• 2013, New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award (for D-Man in the Waters revival)
• 2013, The National Medal of Arts
• 2014, The Doris Duke Performing Artist Award
• 2014, Washington University International Humanities Prize
• 2018, The James Robert Brudner Memorial Prize at Yale University

Film and TV Appearances

Bill T. Jones has appeared in several films and documentaries:

• 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
• 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

See also

• Freda Rosen
• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City
• NYC Pride March