Body Against Body
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Body Against Body photo: Alfredo Anceschi Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 8pm University Theater, 222 York Street, New Haven MONKEY RUN ROAD PROGRAM (1979, Reconstructed in 2011) Choreography by Bill T. Jones and BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE Arnie Zane COMPANY Music composed by Helen Thorington Costumes by Liz Prince BILL T. JONES, Artistic Director Lighting by Robert Wierzel JEAN DAVIDSON, Executive Director JANET WONG, Associate Artistic Danced by Director Talli Jackson and Erick Montes Featuring PAUSE The Company: BLAUVELT MOUNTAIN (A Fiction) Talli Jackson, Paul Matteson, Erick (1980, Revised by Bill T. Jones, 2002) Montes, and Jennifer Nugent Choreography by Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane Production Staff: Music composed by Helen Thorington Kyle Maude, Laura Bickford, Eric Costumes by Liz Prince Launer, Shoshanna Gross Lighting by Robert Wierzel Body Against Body is made possible Danced by with support from the Company’s Paul Matteson and Jennifer Nugent commissioning program, “Partners in Creation,” which includes the Body Against Body was following donors: the Argosy commissioned by The Institute of Foundation, Abigail Congdon and Joe Contemporary Art/Boston Azrack, Anne Delaney, Eleanor Friedman, Barbara and Eric Dobkin, Sandra and Gerald Eskin, Ruth and ABOUT THE Stephen Hendel, Ellen Poss, Jane Bovington Semel and Terry Semel and COMPANY Carol H. Tolan. Now in its 29th year, the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company was born out of an 11-year collaboration 66 International Festival of Arts & Ideas between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane Culture 2000,Bolgna, Italy); Blind Date (1948–1988). During this time, they (2006, Peak Performances at Mont- redefined the duet form and clair State University); Chapel/Chapter foreshadowed issues of identity, form (2006, Harlem Stage Gatehouse); and social commentary that would and Fondly Do We Hope… Fervently change the face of American dance. Do We Pray (2009, Ravinia Festival, The Company emerged onto the Highland Park, IL). The ongoing, international scene in 1983 with the site-specific, Another Evening was last world premiere of Intuitive performed in its seventh incarnation Momentum, which featured legendary as Another Evening: Venice/Arsenale drummer Max Roach, at the Brooklyn (2010, La Biennale di Venezia). Academy of Music. Since then, the 10-member Company has performed The Company has also produced two worldwide in over 200 cities in 30 evenings centered on Bill T. Jones’s countries on every major continent. solo performance: The Breathing Today, the Company is recognized Show (1999, Hancher Auditorium, as one of the most innovative and Iowa City, IA) and As I Was Saying… powerful forces in the modern dance (2005, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, world. MN). The repertory of the Bill T. Jones/ The Company has been featured in Arnie Zane Dance Company is widely many publications, and one of the varied in its subject matter, visual most in-depth examinations of Bill T. imagery and stylistic approach to Jones and Arnie Zane’s collaborations movement, voice and stagecraft and can be found in Body Against Body: includes musically-driven works as The Dance and Other Collaborations well as works using a variety of texts. of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (1989 - The Company has been Station Hill Press) edited by Elizabeth acknowledged for its intensely Zimmer. collaborative method of creation that has included artists as diverse as Keith The Company has received numerous Haring, Cassandra Wilson, The Orion awards, including New York Dance String Quartet, the Chamber Society and Performance Awards (“Bessie”) of Lincoln Center, Fred Hersch, Jenny for Chapel/Chapter at Harlem Stage Holzer, Robert Longo, Julius Hemphill (2006), The Table Project (2001), and Daniel Bernard Roumain, among D-Man in the Waters (1989 and 2001), others. The collaborations of the Bill musical scoring and costume design T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company for Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/ with visual artists were the subject of The Promised Land (1990) and for the Art Performs Life (1998), a groundbreaking Joyce Theater season groundbreaking exhibition at the (1986). The Company was nominated Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN. for the 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Some of its most celebrated creations Dance and Best New Dance are evening length works including Production” for We Set Out Early… Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Visibility was Poor. Promised Land (1990, Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy The Company celebrated its landmark of Music); Still/Here (1994, Biennale 20th anniversary at the Brooklyn de la Danse in Lyon, France); We Set Academy of Music with 37 guest Out Early… Visibility Was Poor (1996, artists including Susan Sarandon, Hancher Auditorium,Iowa City, IA); Cassandra Wilson and Vernon Reid. You Walk? (2000, European Capital of The Phantom Project: The 20th 67 International Festival of Arts & Ideas Season presented a diverse repertoire touring arts organization unique in the of over 15 revivals and new works. United States that aims to support movement-based artists through new During the Company’s 25th and adaptive approaches to creation, anniversary season in 2007, Ravinia presentation, touring, education, and Festival in Highland Park, IL offered community engagement. For more the Company its most significant information: www.billtjones.org and commission to date: to create a work www.newyorklivearts.org to honor the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The Company created BIOGRAPHIES three new productions in response: 100 Migrations (2008), a site-specific Bill T. Jones (Artistic Director/Co- community performance project; Founder/Choreographer) is the Serenade/The Proposition (2008), recipient of the 2010 Kennedy examining the nature of history; and Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award Fondly Do We Hope… Fervently Do for Best Choreography of the criti- We Pray (2009), the making of which cally acclaimed FELA!; a 2007 Tony is the subject of a feature-length Award, 2007 Obie Award, and 2006 documentary by Kartemquin Films Stage Directors and Choreographers entitled A Good Man, to be broadcast Foundation CALLAWAY Award for his on PBS American Masters in 2011. choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; The Company has distinguished the 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton itself through extensive community Fellowship; the 2006 Lucille Lortel outreach and educational programs, Award for Outstanding Choreography including partnerships with Bard for The Seven; the 2005 Wexner Prize; College, where company members the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps Ameri- teach an innovative curriculum rooted can Dance Festival Award for Life- in the Company’s creative model and time Achievement; the 2005 Harlem highly collaborative methods; and Renaissance Award; the 2003 Dorothy with Lincoln Center Institute, which and Lillian Gish Prize; and the 1994 uses Company works in its MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 2000, educator-training and in-school The Dance Heritage Coalition named repertory programs. University and Mr. Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance college dance programs throughout Treasure.” the U.S. work with the Company to reconstruct significant works for their Mr. Jones choreographed and per- students. The Company conducts formed worldwide with his late part- intensive workshops for professional ner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill and pre-professional dancers and T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company produces a broad range of discussion in 1982. He has created more than 140 events at home and on the road, all works for his company. In 2010, Mr. born from the strong desire to Jones was named Executive Artistic “participate in the world of ideas.” Director of New York Lives Arts, a new model of artist-led, producing/ In 2010, the Company announced a presenting/touring arts organization groundbreaking merger with Dance unique in the United States that was Theater Workshop that The New York formed between a merger of the Bill Times said could “alter the contem- T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company porary dance landscape in New York.” and Dance Theater Workshop. The new organization, called New York Live Arts, is a new model of Arnie Zane (Co-Founder/ artist-led, producing/presenting/ Choreographer) (1948-1988) was a 68 International Festival of Arts & Ideas native New Yorker born in the Bronx graduate and graduate degrees from and educated at the State University Middlebury and Bennington Colleges, of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. respectively. He was a member of Da- In 1971, Arnie Zane and Bill T. Jones vid Dorfman Dance and Race Dance began their long collaboration in and has also performed for Terry choreography and in 1973 formed the Creach, Peter Schmitz, Kota Yamazaki, American Dance Asylum in Chamecki/Lerner, Jamie Cunningham, Binghamton with Lois Welk. Mr. Zane’s Neta Pulvermacher, Susan Sgorbati, first recognition in the arts came as Helena Franzen, and Keith Johnson. a photographer when he received a He has been a guest teacher at festi- Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS) val throughout the U.S. and in Russia. Fellowship in 1973. Mr. Zane was the He also choreographs and collabo- recipient of a second CAPS Fellowship rates with Jennifer Nugent. Mr. Mat- in 1981 for choreography, as well as teson joined the Company in 2008. two Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts Erick Montes (Dancer), originally from (1983 and 1984). In 1980, Mr. Zane Mexico City, trained at the National was co-recipient, with Bill T. Jones, School of Classical and Contemporary of the German Critics Award for his Dance. He danced with Compañia work, Blauvelt Mountain. Rotary Barro Rojo Arte Escenico, A-Quo Action, a duet with Mr. Jones, was Danza Contemporanea, Aksenti and filmed for television, co-produced by Thania Perez-Salas. He received first WGBH-TV Boston and Channel 4 in prize at 2001 Premio Intercontinental London. The Alvin Ailey American INBA-UAM. In 2002, he collaborated Dance Theater commissioned a new with Stephen Petronio on projects for work from Mr.