Bill T. Jones
(born February 15, 1952) is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.
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BILL T. JONES TICKETS
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Biography
Jones was born in
Bunnell,
Florida and later moved to New York State where he attended
Wayland High School. He began his dance training at the
State University of New York at Binghamton (SUNY), studying classical
ballet and
modern dance.
Career
Jones choreographed and performed worldwide as a soloist and duet company with his late partner,
Arnie Zane before forming the
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982.
[1]
Creating more than 100 works for his own company, Jones has also choreographed for
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,
AXIS Dance Company,
Boston Ballet, 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 and
Max Roach, Degga, at
Alice Tully Hall, commissioned by
Lincoln Center’s "Serious Fun" Festival. His collaboration with
Jessye Norman,
How! Do! We! Do!
premiered at New York’s City Center in 1999.
In 1990, Jones choreographed Sir
Michael Tippett’s
New Year
under the direction of Sir
Peter Hall for the
Houston Grand Opera and the
Glyndebourne Opera Festival. He conceived, co-directed and choreographed
Mother of Three Sons
, which was performed at the
Munich Biennale,
New York City Opera, 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
Rhodessa Jones for Festival 2000, in 1990. In 1994, he directed
Derek Walcott’s
Dream on Monkey Mountain
for The
Guthrie Theater in
Minneapolis, MN.
Television credits include
PBS’s “Great Performances” Series (
Fever Swamp
and
Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land
) and “Alive from Off Center” (Untitled).
Still/Here
was co-directed for television by Bill T. Jones and Gretchen Bender. A PBS documentary on the making of
Still/Here
, by
Bill Moyers and
David Grubin, “Bill T. Jones: Still/Here with Bill Moyers”, premiered in 1997. The 1999 Blackside documentary
I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts
, profiled Jones’ work.
D-Man in the Waters
is included in “Free to Dance”, a 2001 Emmy winning documentary that chronicles modern dance’s
African-American roots. Narrated by Jones himself, the
BBC/VIEW also produced a documentary film, entitled
Bill T. Jones: Dancing to the Promised Land
, that documents the creation of Jones’s
Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land
and guides us through the life, work, and creative process of Jones and the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company.
[2]
Awards
In 1994, Jones received a MacArthur “Genius” Award.
[3] In 1979, Jones was granted the Creative Artists Public Service Award in Choreography, and in 1980, 1981 and 1982, he was the recipient of Choreographic Fellowships from the
National Endowment for the Arts. Bill T. Jones has been awarded several New York Dance and Performance (“
Bessie”) Awards; 1986 Joyce Theater Season (along with Arnie Zane),
D-Man in the Waters
(1989 and 2001),
The Table Project
(2001) and
The Breathing Show
(2001). Mr. Jones, along with his collaborators, sister Rhodessa Jones and
Idris Ackamoor, received an “
Izzie” Award in Choreography for
Perfect Courage
in 1992. In 2001, Jones received another “Izzie” for his work,
Fantasy in C-Major
, with
AXIS Dance Company. Jones was honored with the Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Award for his innovative contributions to performing arts in 1991. In 1993, Jones was presented with the Dance Magazine Award. In 2000, The
Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” Jones has received honorary doctorates from the
Art Institute of Chicago,
Bard College,
Columbia College, the
Juilliard School,
Swarthmore College, and the
SUNY Binghamton Distinguished Alumni Award.
In 2005 he received the Wexner Prize at the
Wexner Center for the Arts at
The Ohio State University
In 2007, he won the Tony award for Best Choreography for
Spring Awakening
.
[4]
Jones was named a 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellow and awarded a $50,000 grant by
United States Artists, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists.
[5]
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
- 2008: The Black List: Volume One
- 2008: The Universe of Keith Haring
- 2008: Bill T Jones - Solos
Bibliography
References
- Bill T. Jones
- http://www.view.com/bill_t_jones_dancing_to_the_promised_land_dvd.aspx VIEW Video DVD Listing
- MacArthur Fellows
- Bill T. Jones honored with $50,000 Wexner Prize
- Bill T. Jones: USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellow, Dance