Bill T. Jones

Bio: The extraordinarily diverse and accomplished Bill T. Jones held sway, over the course of his lengthy career, as one of the foremost choreographers, dancers, and dance company artistic directors to emerge from the U.S. A graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton, Jones began his career by forming a globally touring, two-man… More Bio: The extraordinarily diverse and accomplished Bill T. Jones held sway, over the course of his lengthy career, as one of the foremost choreographers, dancers, and dance company artistic directors to emerge from the U.S. A graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton, Jones began his career by forming a globally touring, two-man dance/choreographer team with his partner, the late Arnie Zane; the two then co-founded the Bill T. Jones-Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982, six years before Zane's death. Over the years, Jones choreographed in excess of 100 works for his own company, and also choreographed dances for such institutions as the Boston Ballet, the Lyon Opera Ballet, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Diversions Dance Company. His honors include a 1994 MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant; the Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980, 1981, and 1982; the 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; and many other awards and laurels.Filmically, the majority of Jones's on-camera appearances consist of dance-themed releases that he choreographed and/or participated in. These include: Black is. . . Black Ain't (1994), Bill T. Jones: Still/Here (1997), and Oliver Button is a Star (2002). In 2007, Jones participated as an interviewee in the documentary The Universe of Keith Haring. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi