#arnie zane

[rasheednewsonauthor]

Footnote 47 in “My Government Means to Kill Me” spotlights a pair of gay forerunners that I admire with all my heart: dance legends and lovers Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane.

[seconddoubt]

Post-Modernist dancers Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane with a backdrop by Keith Haring on the cover of Ballet News, August 1985.

[trendynewsnow]

The Enduring Legacy of Bill T. Jones's 'Still/Here'

The Enduring Legacy of Bill T. Jones’s “Still/Here” Nothing distorts culture quite like a culture war, and one of the most significant dance works of the 1990s that exemplifies this phenomenon is Bill T. Jones’s “Still/Here.” Watching its 30th anniversary revival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Wednesday felt akin to having Toto pull back the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. What emerged was a…

[longlistshort]

Artist Alex Katz created this mural, Bill 2, a portrait of modern dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones, in 2019 for Murals of La Jolla in San Diego. Murals of La Jolla is a project started in 2010 by The Athenaeum and the La Jolla Community Foundation. It commissions artists to create work to be displayed on buildings around La Jolla. A map of all the murals currently on view can be found here.

From the Murals of La Jolla website about the work-

Alex Katz’s mural, Bill 2, celebrates Bill T. Jones, one of the most noted and recognized modern-dance choreographers of our time. Executed in Katz’s bold and simplified signature style, Bill 2 depicts Jones’ visage, through a series of distinct expressions. The repetition of his face has a cinematic and lyrical quality, reinforcing his place in the world of dance, music and film. Portions of the face are dramatically cropped, giving the viewer only quick and gestural glimpses of Jones. Bill 2, is a striking homage to two artists, Katz and Jones, both renowned in their respective fields of visual and performing arts. The mural’s proximity to the new Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center gives a nod to the interconnected worlds of art, music, and dance.

The Guggenheim museum in NYC is currently showing Alex Katz: Gathering, a retrospective of the artist’s work from the late 1940’s until the present. The exhibition will be up until February 20, 2023.

From their website about the exhibition-

Emerging as an artist in the mid-20th century, Katz forged a mode of figurative painting that fused the energy of Abstract Expressionist canvases with the American vernaculars of the magazine, billboard, and movie screen. Throughout his practice, he has turned to his surroundings in downtown New York City and coastal Maine as his primary subject matter, documenting an evolving community of poets, artists, critics, dancers, and filmmakers who have animated the cultural avant-garde from the postwar period to the present.

Staged in the city where Katz has lived and worked his entire life, and prepared with the close collaboration of the artist, this retrospective will fill the museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda. Encompassing paintings, oil sketches, collages, drawings, prints, and freestanding “cutout” works, the exhibition will begin with the artist’s intimate sketches of riders on the New York City subway from the late 1940s and will culminate in the rapturous, immersive landscapes that have dominated his output in recent years.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company has numerous performances every year. Conceived and directed by Bill T. Jones, and choreographed by Jones with Janet Wong and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, the latest work, Curriculum II, will be performed at on March 10, 11, and 12, at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston.

Jones also hosts the series Bill Chats at NYC’s The New School. On January 30th, he will be in conversation with Bessie Award-winning theater director and performance artist, Niegel Smith and curator, producer, and director, Kamilah Forbes. For more events check out the New York Live Arts calendar.

[virilitas]

blog changes.

just to keep you guys posted on some changes.

faceclaims have been updated, hopefully for the last time.

abraham now has jake gyllenhaal for a main fc, with hugh dancy as alt.

adam now has chris evans as the main fc, with charlie hunnam as alt.

ben now has henry cavill as the main fc, with chris hemsworth as alt.

agustin still has aaron taylor johnson as the main fc, with zane phillips as the alt.

arni is unchanged with cody christian as the main fc, with taron egerton as the alt.

i am also starting on working on the muses page for the next set of characters! so keep an eye out for that.

[kickmag]

Angélique Kidjo, Bill T. Jones & Thelonius Monk Documentaries Are Scheduled For Season 15 Of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange

Documentaries about African singer Angélique Kidjo, choreographer Bill T. Jones and jazz musician Thelonious Monk are scheduled for season 15 of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange.  The new season is different from previous ones because it focuses on one theme by singling out Black art for the first time. The WORLD Channel has been the home and co-producer of the show with Black Public Media since  2010. Leslie Fields-Cruz, BPM executive director and AfroPoP executive producer had this to say about their 15th anniversary: 

“When we created AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange it was our hope that we would be able to bring stories of modern Black life to public media audiences and help augment viewers’ ideas of what Black life is and can be,” said Leslie Fields-Cruz, BPM executive director and AfroPoP executive producer. “Witnessing the series reach its 15th season, a landmark that is the result of the work and drive of so many people over the years, is an awe-inspiring and humbling moment that  fills me with great gratitude.”

The premiere of Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man In The Waters will stream exclusively on Black Public Media's YouTube Channel at midnight ET on Monday, April 3rd. The film will screen later on that day at 8 PM ET on WORLD Channel. The feature looks at the ballet D-Man In The Waters originally presented in 1989 by Jones and his late partner Arnie Zane. The ballet was created in response to the A.I.D.S. crisis at the time and its impact on their dance company and friends. 

Claire Duguet's Queen Kidjo will screen on April 10th. The film follows Kidjo's beginnings in Benin and her rise to legendary status. Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts is a portrait of the painter Bill Traylor who was born a slave and started painting scenes of his life on a plantation and the changing urban world at age 85. Jeffrey Wolf's film about Traylor is scheduled for April 17th. The Sound Of Masks is about a Mapiko dancer from Mozambique. The Mapiko dance is exclusively performed by male members of the Makonde community as a tool of independence to defy the colonizing influence of the Mozambican War Of Independence. Sara CF de Gouveia's feature about Mapiko is scheduled to be seen on April 24th. Rewind & Play is Alain Gomis's exhibit of the disrespect jazz pianist and composer Thelonius Monk experienced in 1969 during an appearance on French state television. Rewind & Play will air on May 1st. AfroPoP has been presenting 

AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchangecan also be viewed on WORLD Channel’s YouTube channel and on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app. The program is available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. APT will release the season to public television stations across the country on Monday, May 1. For viewing information, check local listings.

[clbdreadeddancer]

Dancer: Barrington Hinds | Company: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

[khaosinfo]

CHAOS MANIFESTED.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD there was nothing . no earth . no land . no sky . and no gods . nothing . a very vast and very dark NOTHING . except this nothing has life . and for eons , it’s life is nothing but to exist as a swirling , yawning void in a dark , cold world .

it was called KHAOS , and it was the fundamental building block of the universe . it was a RANDOM being . a confusing , cacophonous . and uncertain being . but somewhere in it’s randomness , in it’s cluttered , docile mind , sprung HARMONY and everything was born .

WITH FOUR FACES.

THE PRIMORDIAL KHAOS . the original form . he lied in wait before to give way to the creation of the universe , and he lies in wait again for it's eventual end . he walks the earth under the name abraham doe . he is a well-know fiction writer .

notably aloof , introverted , and peculiar . versatile ( prefers to bottom ). fc: hugh dancy

THE DESTRUCTIVE THOUGHT . the first phase . the first thought made by khaos was not something gentle , nor something with a goal . instead it was destruction , and it's destruction formed the first building blocks of the universe . he walks the earth under the name adam moore . he owns a dive bar called the cradle .

notably blunt , impulsive , and domineering . bottom ( power bottom ). fc: charlie hunnam

THE CRADLE OF THE WORLD . the second phase . after the first gave way to creation , he labored with the things that float in the primordial soup ... and he created , and nurtured , until the universe was born . now , he walks the earth as ben parks . he is a university professor .

notably kind , patient , and welcoming to all . versatile ( anything goes ) . fc: henry cavill ( main ) chris hemsworth ( alt ) .

THE WANDERING LIFE . the third phase . the accidental avatar of khaos brought down to the universe as it was being created . his first set of eyes that saw the potential in this creation-- however confusing and mind-melting it might be . today he walks as agustin richards . he is a bartender at the cradle .

notably crass , promiscuous , and insatiable . bottom ( non - negotiable ) . fc: aaron taylor johnson ( main ) zane phillips ( alt ) .

THE NEWEST LIFE . the last phase . the new avatar of khaos , still in his youth on earth . the symbol of a new life , who will see and experience life with a fresh set of eyes . to see if the creation of the universe amounted to something . to see if it's worth preserving . on earth , he walks as arni ender . he is a university student .

notably care free , gregarious , and passionate . bottom ( non-negotiable ? ) . fc: cody christian ( main ) taron egerton ( alt )

ADDITIONAL CHARACTERIZATION NOTES.

[themovieblogonline]

Filmmakers ask "CAN YOU BRING IT?" in powerful new Dance Documentary

"Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters" dives deeply into the creative process that culminated in choreographer-dancer-director Bill T. Jones’s tour de force ballet D-Man in the Waters.  Born amidst the AIDS crisis in 1989, the production gave physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief and, ultimately, hope for salvation that the emerging Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (both business and life partners at the time) felt individually and as one. The documentary spotlights a troupe of young dancers in the present day striving to re-interpret the work.  In so doing, they collectively explore what is at stake in their own lives to fully commit to and perform the dance successfully.  Utilizing an extraordinary collage of interviews, archival material, and uniquely powerful cinematography this lyrical documentary uses the story of an iconic dance to illuminate the power of art and the triumph of the human spirit. https://youtu.be/zvdqTFNCUwc Filmmakers ask "CAN YOU BRING IT?" in powerful new Dance Documentary Co-Director Interviews with John Smistad "Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters" is about a lot of things. Dance.  Art.  Grace.  Loss.  Devastation.  Mourning.  Resilience.  Strength.  Hope. At it's very core, however, what this remarkable documentary is really about is the limitless power of The Human Spirt.  A power that we are all Blessed with.  An innate power that, too often it seems, we forget we have. "Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters" serves to remind us of our power. In a way that can't be forgotten. I recently interviewed the film's co-directors, Roz LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz, for my YouTube Channel.  Here's our conversation: https://youtu.be/d7aTzPUJ--I "Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters" begins streaming on April 3 exclusively on WORLDChannel.org, Black Public Media’s YouTube Channel and on the WORLD YouTube Channel (youtube.com/@worldchannel). The film will make its national television premiere on WORLD Channel.  Check local listings for your WORLD Channel station. You can enjoy my all of my indie entertainment interviews PLUS film reviews on my YouTube Channel at this link: JOHN SMISTAD ("TQFC") Film Reviews & Interviews - YouTube Read the full article

[lboogie1906]

Bill T. Jones (born February 15, 1952) is a choreographer, director, author, and dancer. He is the co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. He is the Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, 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, he has choreographed for major performing arts ensembles, contributed to Broadway and other theatrical productions, and collaborated on projects with a range of fellow artists. He has been called "one of the most notable, recognized modern-dance choreographers and directors of our time." He began to attend Binghamton University, and at Binghamton, he shifted his focus to dance. In an interview, he noted: "[Binghamton] was 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." His dance studies at Binghamton encompassed ballet and modern dance. He and his partner, Arnie Zane, toured the world dancing sexually provocative duets. He had danced solos. 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 and Still/Here are some of his most thought-provoking works. He has choreographed more than 120 documented works. June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named him one of the Pride50 "trailblazing individuals who ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance, and dignity for all queer people". He is married to Bjorn Amelan, a French national. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Corr4lfLwBV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[strathshepard]

Dancers wearing costumes by Willi Smith in Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane’s 1984 Secret Pastures, with Keith Haring’s set design in the background, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, November 1984. Photo: Tom Caravaglia

via artforum

[terpsichoremovementasmuse]

Whoa. Major article on the life of dancer/philosopher king Bill T. Jones.

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Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane shot by Nancy LeVine for InFashion 1987

[dancersofcolor]

Vinson Fraley, Jr. of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company for Harper’s Bazaar

Photo by Amy Troost

[kickmag]

Bill T. Jones Documentary Wins Peabody Award Streaming Now

AfroPoP documentary Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters has won a 2024 Peabody Award. The Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz documentary is about the dance Bill T. Jones created during the A.I.D.S. crisis when members of his dance company and his partner Arnie Zane died of the illness in the '80s. The film opened season 15 of the documentary series AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange co-produced by Black Public Media and WORLD. The film focuses on LeBlanc's dance studio at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and viewers see her students working to learn Jones' D-Man in the Waters ballet. Jones created the dance in 1989  and named it after Demian Acquavella, who was a star dancer of the Bill T. Jones Arnie Zane Company. 

“We are profoundly honored to have our work recognized by this award that speaks to excellence in storytelling, and we sincerely thank everyone involved with us in funding, making, and distributing Can You Bring It…,” said LeBlanc and Hurwitz.

The filmmakers will receive the accolade at the 84th Annual Peabody Awards on Sunday, June 9, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Acknowledging the award the critically acclaimed documentary will stream for free on the BPM website, WORLDchannel.org, and YouTube through July 9, 2024.