Renowned Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in Residency at the University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance is thrilled to welcome the celebrated Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (BTJ/AZ) and company founder Bill. T. Jones as the 2011-2012 Eminent Artists-in-Residence.

The Eminent Artist-in-Residence endowed professorship, established by the Wyoming State Legislature and funded by the Excellence in Higher Education Endowment, rotates among the departments of Art, Music, and Theatre and Dance annually.

“When we were thinking about who our next Eminent Artist should be, we sat down as a dance faculty and tossed out names.  I said I would give anything to bring in Bill T. Jones and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company,” said UW dance faculty Margaret Wilson, who has been working to bring the Company to Wyoming.

“We really thought it was a long shot when we asked, but within four hours of us contacting the Company, Bob Bursey, the producing director, had responded to us and was excited to come to work in Wyoming,” said Wilson.

Widely recognized as one of the most influential dance artists working today, Bill T. Jones is a ground-breaking, multi-talented artist, choreographer, dancer, theater director, writer, and tireless arts advocate.  Named “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure” by the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2000, Jones has received major honors for his vast body of work, ranging from a 1994 Macarthur “Genius” Award to 2010 Kennedy Center Honors to Tony Awards for his choreography on Broadway.

On October 22, there will be a special screening of the new PBS American Masters documentary “A Good Man” at 7:00 p.m. on the UW Fine Arts Main Stage.  “A Good Man” follows Bill T. Jones and his company for two tumultuous years as they create their most ambitious work to date, “Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray,” an original dance-theater piece in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s Bicentennial.

Bill T. Jones himself will be in residency at UW October 26-29 to work with students and to teach master classes.  Jones will be giving the Eminent-Artist-in-Residence Keynote Speech on October 28 at 4:10 p.m. in the UW Fine Arts Concert Hall.

The company's residency will culminate November 15-20 with “Continuous Momentum: the Works of Bill T. Jones.”  Performed by UW students, this concert will feature four pieces from the BTJ/AZ repertory, including "D-man in the Waters," "Continuous Replay," "Duet," and "Power/ful."  A tour of the repertory concert is scheduled for December 9 – 13, with possible tour locations including Torrington, Gillette, Sheridan, Lander, Riverton, Powell, and Rock Springs.