Review of Foldly Do we Hope... Fervently Do We Pray

Following Lincoln Through History

By GIA KOURLAS

Published: July 16, 2010

When Bill T. Jones was 5, as he is fond of reminiscing, Lincoln was the only white man he was allowed to love unconditionally. The ramifications of such a statement run deep, but in “Fondly Do We Hope ... Fervently Do We Pray,” Mr. Jones has created a pedantic production inspired by Lincoln — overly emphatic in terms of theater and breezily limited in terms of dance — that is less forceful than force-fed.

Enlarge This Image

Ruby Washington/The New York Times

At the same time, “Fondly Do We Hope,” performed by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company on Thursday night at the Rose Theater as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, has been tightened significantly since it was first shown last September at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Ill.
Just as the piece is easier to read at the Rose Theater, the rock, folk and gospel music, composed and arranged by Jerome Begin, Christopher Antonio William Lancaster and George Lewis Jr. — is more distinct. Bjorn Amelan’s set, which includes transparent fabric that wraps around the stage, fares slightly better. (It’s more of a lampshade than a shower curtain.)
Jamyl Dobson, the narrator, introduces a variety of people by way of mini-biographies: Mr. Jones, Lincoln, a soldier born in 1975 and a woman, born in 1939, who “can’t stand to think about how the government throws her hard-earned money away.” We also witness a debate concerning slavery, immigration and personal freedom.
But the talking never seems to stop in “Fondly Do We Hope,” raising a question about what world Mr. Jones, who just won a Tony Award for “Fela!,” would rather be a part of: theater or dance? His direction doesn’t make a resounding case for dance, which is frequently relegated to a second stage extending from the main one like a jetty or veiled behind drapery.
Choreographically, it’s repetitive and slickly cheap: in quick spurts, dancers wind and unwind in corkscrew patterns, using the momentum of curving legs or straight arms to etch exaggerated shapes in space.
Mr. Jones alienates his audience with a heated sentiment and then undercuts it with a line like — referring to himself — “He is still surprised that he never stops believing in great men, though he keeps it to himself.” It’s hard to swallow; of late, Lincoln has become a victim of commodification — featured in a Geico ad and the subject of books like “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Instead of focusing on what Lincoln stood for — or truly questioning it — Mr. Jones’s production just contributes to the static.

This program will be repeated Saturday at the Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street; (212) 721-6500; lincolncenter.org.

A version of this review appeared in print on July 17, 2010, on page C5 of the New York edition.

Another Bill T Jones Interview

In conjunction with his UMS performance, Fondly Do We Hope... Fervently Do We Pray, renowned dancer and choreographer Bill T Jones discusses how a work is made and the process of understanding it.

Fela! Inverview with Bill T Jones

Bill T Jones and Arnie Zane

"Living and dying is not the big issue.  The big issue is what you're going to do with your time while you are here"  -Bill T Jones

      

      

"Living and dying is not the big issue.  The big issue is what you're going to do with your time while you are here"  -Bill T Jones

 

 

Why Care?

There are so many reasons that this dancer and choreographer is important to both myself and the dance world.  His controversial works help to open up the minds of his audience to new experiences and seeing his perspective in a bold light.  Jones has inspired me to be daring in my own choreography and to be more open to speaking and using text while dancing.  He is so inspired by his own life as well as the lives of others, and because of this I can take pieces of my own life experiences and see what choreography comes from them.  I would love to choreograph a dance about some of my experiences while I lived in South America.  The public should embrace Jones as a dancer and choreographer who isn’t afraid to be completely direct about his ideas and opinions, regardless of how controversial they are.  Jones has inspired other choreographers to be bold and unapologetic in today’s dance scene.  The political light that he shines onto his works captures his story that he is trying to tell with creativity and innovation.  And because he makes a point to utilize different races and body shapes in his works, he is an inspiration to all dancers who may not fit into a certain stereotype of a pencil-thin bun-head.  Jones’s works, many of which are currently being re-staged, are a great gift to young choreographers who are looking to make a statement.  Jones puts his position on stage for everyone to see, and he thrives on the questions his position raises.

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think--rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men” 

-Bill T Jones

Why is Bill T Jones Important?

Bill T Jones has contributed not only his talent of choreography but also his skill in thinking outside the box.  Jones has shared his life with his dancers and audience and has not been afraid to be explicit, honest, and innovative.  His choreography is distinguished by storytelling, gestural movements, and deconstructionism.  Jones is able to tell stories, often provocative, through text and movement. 

“Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin/The Promised Land” was basically a three hour discourse on freedom, complete with about 70 nearly nude performers.  “Still/Here” was a controversial work that put the stories of volunteers with narratives about their life-threatening illnesses.  These works are among Jones’s repertoire which changed modern dance and allowed the field to put world and life issues right in the faces of the audience.  Jones is not afraid to directly address taboo topics and really examine their significance, which is why he is so important to the field of modern dance.

The Bigger Picture

            Bill T Jones has always gone against the grain made it clear that while he appreciates and admires other choreographers, he is his own artist with his own techniques for choreography and dance.  In his life, it is probably true that the existence of Graham, Ailey, Cunningham and other great modern artists pushed Jones to be his own artist and find his own voice and individualism from the other artists of his time. 

Jones has always used experiences from his own life to create his choreography.  Topics such as death and dying, as well as survival, are topics that Jones has tackled in some of his most notable works.  And although most of his influences have been from directly from his own life experiences, some were also from world events: specifically, slavery.  Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin/The Promised Land is a piece that Jones himself says “…started of talking about slavery was, at the end, the ultimate vision of freedom” (Gates, The Body Politic).  In this piece, nudity was used to show how common and similar we really all are to each other.  Because the early 90’s were still a time of social and racial segregation, still struggling to move towards equality that continues today, this piece showed that while looking at the different bodies nude, the audience was unable to tell or even care who was rich, poor, married, single, or even gay or straight.  Jones grew up in an area predominately white, so he had clear inspirations from his early childhood situation. 

            In 1985 the AIDS test became widespread available, and both Jones and his partner, Arnie Zane were tested, both to learn that they were tested positive.  This began Jones’ interest in death and disease, for which later in 1992, he hosted Survival Workshops that gathered people who had fatal illnesses to talk about their experiences in depth and detail.  This, of course, led to the creation of Still/Here, in which these experiences shared by the people from the workshops are danced on stage in a creative, dark way. 

           

An Evening with Bill T Jones

Professional Lineage

Bill T Jones is one of the most influential and controversial choreographers in the 21^st century.  He is trained in African, modern and post-modern dance, classical ballet and contact improve, all of which are clearly displayed while watching him move.  Much of his own movement as well as his choreography is a physical manifestation of diversity in action and interaction.  After first learning the beginning of his movement training at Binghamton College, he and Arnie Zane later moved to the West Coast and worked with Luis Welk at the American Dance Asylum.  Currently, he has his own dance company, T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, as well as choreographed for numerous notable artists. 

            Bill T Jones, as a black, gay, HIV positive man, is a survivor who many find influential.  In his own company, he has always included multiple races as well as multiple body types.  He is most influenced by life itself; civil rights, identity politics, counter culture movements, and avant gardism.  He has stated that some of his early-life heros include Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham.  Most of all, he has been influenced by his former partner, Arnie Zane.  He and Arnie had multiple collaborations throughout their time together. This works are basically an 11-year partnership that eventually resulted in their company. 

 More notable partnerships include, in 1995, when Jones directed and performed in a collaborative work with Toni Morrison and Max Roach, Degga, at Alice Tully Hall, commissioned by Lincoln Center's Serious Fun Festival. His collaboration with Jessye Norman, How! Do! We! Do!, premiered at New York's City Center in 1999. Jones's curiosity in digital technology and new media has resulted in collaborations with the team of Paul Kaiser, Shelley Eshkar and Marc Downie, now known as OpenEnded Group. The collaborations include After Ghostcatching - the 10th Anniversary re-imagining of Ghostcatching; 22; and Ghostcatching - A Virtual Dance Installation. 

Who is Bill T Jones?

A dancer, choreographer and artistic director, to begin.  Bill T Jones began discovered dance at Binghamton University, while there on a sports scholarship, where he studied both classical ballet as well as modern dance.  In 1973, he became co-founder of the American Dance Asylum with Luis Welk after returning to Binghamton University.  Two years earlier, he met Arnie Zane who became his partner as well as long-time companion.  Together, they choreographed pioneering solos and duets in the 1970's that often employed openly gay choreography.  One of his most famous works, Still/Here (1995) dealt with the sufferings caused by HIV, with which Jones is infected and which was the cause of Zane’s death.   


Currently, he has created more than 140 works for his own company, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.  Jones has a great interest in new media and technology and often mixes video, text, and autobiographical material with his compositions.  Beyond his own works, Jones had also choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston Ballet and Lyon Opera Ballet, among numerous others.  He has won several awards for his innovative choreography, including the 1994 MacArthur "Genius" Award as well as a Tony Award for his work on Broadway.  He also was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2009 and named "An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure" by the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2000.  Outside of dance, Jones, who has been HIV-positive since 1985, held a series of workshops with other HIV- and AIDS-infected people.  Furthermore, Jones' memoir, Last Night on Earth, was published by Pantheon Books in 1995.
 

Happy Birthday, Bill T Jones!!!

Today is Bill T Jones' birthday, so celebrate by watching a video clip of "Another Evening: I Bow Down" by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4kcPMoG9Ew

About Me

My name is Tina and currently, exploring dance is one of the most important things in my life. As well as studying to earn my BFA in Dance at UWM, I also teach dance lessons in Mequon and West Bend. I have been taking dance lessons sporadically since I was three years old, participated in college and professional competing dance teams, and recently began performing in Milwaukee. My goal is to open my own competitive dance studio as well as to perform with a professional dance company. Music is a large influence to me as a dancer, and helps me create new choreographies for my students at my work. Also, my students are incredibly influential to me as well, especially when I am feeling uninspired or inept. I value dance as a way to express myself and my creativity when the words aren't available. I like how I can transfer an emotion through choreography and transfer this sensation to my students and see how they express the same sentiment. Dance has been and will remain one of the most important parts of my life.