FULL DANCE CARD FOR BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE
DANCE COMPANY AS IT HEADS INTO
SPRING AND SUMMER 2005
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie
Zane Dance Company, one of the most well-traveled and artistically
vibrant dance troupes in the world, is gobbling up frequent flyer
miles as it zips about the globe opening festivals and inaugurating
new theaters, preparing and presenting premieres. And it has more
up its sleeve in the coming months including Jones’s continued
investigation of technology and imaginative examination of moral,
political, emotional and spiritual concerns.
First off is his work with Arizona
State University in Tempe, where he will present “22,”
a further exploration of the motion capture work he has done with
digital artists Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar. There is also a
major tour of California; a solo performance in Milan’s Duomo
Cathedral; the world premiere of a solo show to inaugurate the newly
built McGuire Theater at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; and
community activities and performances at Aaron Davis Hall in New
York City. The summer features performances at the American Dance
Festival in Durham, NC, where Bill T. Jones will be honored with
the prestigious 2005 Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award.
The world premiere of a full-evening work, “Blind Date,”
at the Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair, NJ kicks off the fall.
“21” BECOMES
“22”: In “22,” Jones continues
his pioneering work with Kaiser and Eshkar, this time employing
motion capture, gesture and sound recognition technology, interactive
environments and a variety of multimedia to reshape Jones’s
whimsical talking solo “21,” which premiered 22 years
ago. The collaboration, Jones’s fifth with Eshkar and Kaiser,
demonstrates the compatibility of technology and live performance
in reacting to, extending and deepening the power of the other.
“22” was commissioned by the Arizona State University’s
Institute for Studies in the Arts and The Arts, Media and Engineering
Program and will premiere at the Galvin Playhouse on April 9.
HERE THEY COME:
The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company will perform in four
major venues in California this spring including The Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion in Los Angeles, UC Riverside’s University Theater
in Riverside, UC San Diego’s Mandeville Auditorium in La Jolla
and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The repertory
features both new and classic works ranging from “Reading,
Mercy and The Artificial Nigger” (2004) and “The Phantom
Project: Still/Here Looking On” (2004) to “Blauvelt
Mountain (A Fiction)” (1980) and “The Gift/No Logic”
(1987).
AND NOW DANCING IN THE CATHEDRAL:
In December 2003, when the Jones/Zane Company opened the Lille Festival
in France, its performances also inaugurated the city’s gorgeously
renovated 1,138-seat opera house. Then in September 2004, the Company
opened the RomaEuropa Festival. On May 5, Bill T. Jones will perform
a major restaging of his solo, “Chaconne,” at the invitation
of the Duomo Cathedral in Milan. A large video screen will make
viewing possible by the 2,500 spectators expected to gather at the
14th century cathedral. The accompanying Bach (“Partita for
Solo Violin in D Minor”) will be played live by violinist
Nurit Parch. The program will include two other important commissions:
a new work by contemporary composer Karl Heinz Stockhausen, as well
as a projected video installation by Mark Wallinger. While this
is the second such arts event at the Duomo, Jones’s appearance
marks its first dance performance.
ART FOR BILL’S SAKE:
That Jones is a favorite among contemporary visual artists will
be apparent at the Company’s third art sale that will be launched
at Diane von Furstenberg the Theater, May 9–14. Over 20 major
artists have donated works including Cindy Sherman, Robert Wilson,
Kiki Smith, Robert Longo, Anselm Kiefer, Jenny Holzer, Francesco
Clemente, Martin Puryear, Tom Otterness, Kara Walker and Donald
Baechler. The total value of the contributed art is over $1.5 million.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Company’s capital
campaign for its new home in Harlem.
AS I WAS SAYING…
On June 2, 4 and 5, Jones, a frequent guest at the Walker Art Center
in Minneapolis, will participate in the inaugural season of the
Center’s new McGuire Theater with the world premiere of “As
I Was Saying…” The three-part solo work, comprised of
dance, text and music performed by Jones and friends, includes his
1983 “Chaconne,” the newly minted “22” and
Jones’s movement response to “The Naz,” a recorded
night club act by the legendary 1950’s performance jazz artist
Lord Buckley. Considered a precursor to rapping, Buckley’s
routines were brightened with Beat jargon (more often spoken than
sung) and an energetic and seductive rhyming style.
BLIND DATE: What does it mean to be patriotic?
Whom does patriotism serve? Jones, who has never been shy about
taking on big philosophical and moral issues, wrestles with these
politically relevant questions in bold and unexpectedly theatrical
ways in “Blind Date.” Using a spectacular design by
the Company’s creative director, Bjorn Amelan, projected film
images by Peter Nigrini, lighting by Robert Wierzel and an original
score by Daniel Bernard Roumain, the work asks hard, sensitive and
often subtle questions about honor, sacrifice, duty and loyalty
in a world threatened by nationalistic fervor and spiritual righteousness.
Excerpts from the 75-minute dance will be previewed during the Company’s
engagement at Aaron Davis Hall, June 16–18. It will receive
its world premiere at the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair
State University, September 21–23.
PLEASE CLICK
HERE FOR PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
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Funding for the Bill T.
Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s
20th Anniversary Season is provided by:
Lead Corporate Sponsor
Altria Group, Inc. is the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip
Morris International and Philip Morris USA. For nearly 50 years,
Altria Group has supported the arts as part of its commitment to
enriching communities and fostering innovation, excellence and cultural
diversity. In the last decade alone, Altria companies have awarded
nearly $130 million to arts organizations across the United States.
Additional information is available at www.altria.com/media_programs.
Major Corporate Sponsor
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services
firm with assets of $803 billion and operations in more than 50
countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial
services for consumers and businesses, financial transaction processing,
investment management, private banking and private equity. A component
of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JP Morgan Chase is headquartered
in New York and serves more than 30 million consumer customers nationwide,
and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional
and government clients. Information about JP Morgan Chase is available
on the internet at www.jpmorganchase.com.
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